The urge for self-expression is a primal human phenomenon. Self-portraits by artists such as Albrecht Dürer or Parmigianino show the awakening of individuality at the end of the Middle Ages and reflect a meticulous observation of the self. Due to the ubiquity of cell phone cameras, the display of one’s own body today is a reflection of self-indulgence and the constant greed for self-dramatization.
Thai Ho Pham devotes himself to this new type of self-portrait with found objects from the Internet. He came across a flood of nude images on social networks such as Twitter and Tumblr. Young women and men photograph their naked bodies in the mirror and then share the snapshots with the general public. In “Selfish Tits” and “Selfish Cocks”, Thai Ho Pham explores this area of tension by painting over the nudes printed on canvas with oil paint.
Nudity and voyeurism are also at the heart of the video installation “Selbsterfundene Heiligsprechung”. Divided into three videos, the installation is based on the form of a triptych. Thai Ho Pham paints a picture of a saint in video format. The boundaries between the media become blurred.