Developed in 2012 as a foundational component of the celebrated All the others in me series, documents Arjona’s critical examination of cultural femininity, societal expectations, and public voyeurism. The full-length composition captures the artist completely covered in dense black garments that veil her face and head, using her body to violently stretch and warp a second layer of elastic fabric into a surreal, elongated sculptural form. By mimicking the structure of a striptease—removing endless clothing while firmly refusing to expose the naked skin—the artist actively frustrates and challenges the gaze of the spectator.

The body, in opposition to this language system and ironically living it, speaks through organs, plays with images, sounds, smells, textures, mixtures, everything reacts, absorbs, and transpires ... For the 4th Marrakech Biennale, Arjona creates a very particular piece in her body of work as it is the first to directly allude to gender policies. Simulating a striptease in which she takes off clothes but does not undress, the artist examines the connotation of "femininity" and the wishes and desires of the public. The revival of the figurative photography shows an androgynous body that fuses the genres and proposes a fluid body territory.

Explore a powerful document of bodily action, material tension; incorporate this work of fine art performance photography by María José Arjona on our website.