Anne Bengard, (too) Close for Comfort, 2022

“At what point does intimacy become intrusive?
When does desire become fetishisation? When is closeness too close?
Where do the lines blur and misunderstandings arise?…
and how does race play into this?

While working on this piece I was confronted with themes around fetishisation of Black, Indigenous and People of Colour.
Even in consensual, intimate relationships it’s important to reflect on the questions above.

So far the feedback on this piece can be summarised in two ways:
Most white women I’ve spoken with view the piece as sensual, beautiful, erotic.
Most Black men and women I’ve spoken with feel discomfort when viewing the piece. For them, themes of racism, intrusiveness and fetishisation came up.
As a white woman I felt very uncomfortable painting this piece as I was reflecting on the same notions.”