Karin Hanssen

The subject of Karin Hanssen’s work is the act of looking; the gaze, to be precise. The flashback is like a journey through time. The Borrowed Gaze works by appropriating and reinterpreting existing photographic images. ‘Returning the gaze’ is inspired by the concept of the mirror, by repetition through the appropriation of photographic images and by the gaze of the other. In Returning the Gaze, the gaze as a social mask, as a mirror of the other, is a central theme of Hanssen’s paintings.
In addition to the role of mankind as a social being, the representation of women in our society – and, above all, the position of women – is also a leitmotif in Karin Hanssen’s work. Returning the Gaze is the collective title of a series of works produced by Karin Hanssen between 2015 and 2019. As in the previous series The Borrowed Gaze / Variations GTB (2010-2011) and A Room of One’s Own (2011-2014), the main subject of her work continues to be the representation of women. From the way in which women are portrayed, we can deduce a lot about the moral, social and civic position that was imposed on them. Woman’s escape from traditional, usually patriarchal structures is the cornerstone of the work. In this series she depicts the active woman in public space.
Like our own gaze, the painting is a composition of several conversing or competing frameworks, each of which seeks attention in its own way. Hanssen directs the viewer’s gaze by framing and magnifying certain fragments. Our gaze shows us only a fragmented and thus coloured image of reality. By changing the context, she influences our perception and experience of what is depicted. The images from the past that Hanssen presents seek a confrontation with the current view of mankind in this multicultural and gender-diverse society. Her paintings are layered mental images with a timeless, universal aura, while at the same time prompting us to reflect on our own position, our own gaze.