You are the Weather – Roni Hor

You are the Weather, 1994-95, is a four-wall installation of 100 photographs of Margret Haraldsdottir Blondal bathing in the naturally heated waters in Iceland throughout July and August 1994.

All the images in this book are similar to the one on the front cover, showing Margret bathing in the hot springs but only showing her face, some of the images are in black and white and others in colour.

I think this book really represents one of the themes I’m exploring during this project, the female gaze, as the images only depict her face and not her entire body, essentially removing any opportunities to sexualise the subject. I also think this links to the female gaze and it shows the natural beauty of the woman, unlike in the male gaze, where women would have a “superficial” beauty.

What is the “female gaze”? The female gaze is a way of speaking and listening, rather than the action and chaos that fills a screen. As well as, looking through the lens of both desire and detail that take place in a women’s cinema. Allowing there to be this connection to desire, but in a way that isn’t just purely sexual, as there would be in the male gaze. I also think that the female gaze can be viewed in a few different ways. The female gaze is how women view themselves. That there is finally this ability to look in, rather than just the reflection of how society has wanted to see us. There is also the definition of the world being viewed from a female gaze, meaning more feminine without the purpose of benefiting men.

“We worked daily, mostly outside, and regardless of the changeable, often unpredictable climate that frequents the island.” – Roni Horn