Beth - Poetic Explorations

"Beth" is not a portrait of a single woman, but an emerging lyrical archetype guiding my exploration into the aesthetic echoes of female poetry and strength in the context of experimental photography. My quest is for an expression of emancipated femininity, with entails a strong and independent vibrancy as well as the courage to be vulnerable and emotional. Beth moves through the poetic landscapes of my surreal imagery, which tells of vitality, longings, magic and fantasies. She is daring, almost always successful in her endeavours, even flying, and has the prowess to command her visions and follow the language of her heart. I create new poetic worlds that invite the viewer to come in and experience beautiful ways of seeing their own potential. However, my images are not supposed to look nice, they are supposed to make you feel something.

"Beth" personifies a poetic utopia of sensual world experience, an all-encompassing state that unites emotions, body and spirit. A physical and spiritual unity that goes hand in hand with intuitive sensual aspects of humanity and womanhood, which is unfortunately still suppressed in many ways in our culture and society. My images are counter-proposals to the conventional way of representing and perceiving women as objects resulting from a patriarchal culture dominated by reason. In this sense, these works are an expression of my struggle for a feminine identity, which also nourishes the potential for social change.

Petra Jaenicke May 2020