13
MEN OF CLEANING

13 men of cleaning: Vidéo

(Honorable mention at the

17th JULIA MARGARET CAMERON AWARD

non-professional section

open theme category)

This project was conceived by chance. I wanted to test a new lens and I took some pictures of a very important man in my life. We were in his house. He was naked and had just finished to do the cleaning. I liked the portraits so much that I decided to make a series. So, I started to ask friends and acquaintances the permission to shoot them while they cleaned their homes, naked. I informed them that I would hide their face or take off their head during retouching, if necessary.

During two years I asked forty-two men. Thirty-four of them live in Marseille (France) and eight of them live in Italy. I got in touch with these men directly or through common friends.

Twenty-nine refused. Three of them were too prudish and three others did not feel concerned. One was blind and could not appreciate the result. Two of them wanted to loose weight before the shoot. One had tattoos and was horrified at the idea of being photographed but immediately found a substitute. Two of them never answered my invitation. Another considered it a mad thing, that did not suit him at all. One was interested but he ended up not posing. Another man had body image issues. One had skin problems. One did not want his girl-friend to know, so I let him go. Another changed his mind at the last moment without explaining. One does not know the reason of his refusal yet. One was too modest but so enthusiastic that he asked six of his friends. They all refused. Some thought that he was mad, the others felt too prude. One said yes to a common friend but he never answered my message. Finally, one said that ultra-feminism was

so-so, “Bof!” in french.

Thirteen men accepted my invitation. Five of them live in Bologna and eight in Marseille.

Three of them did not want to be photographed at home where their wife and children live. So, one came to do the cleaning in my house and four of them in common friends' houses.

One of these men has feminine attributes. At number thirteen I decided to stop as I am interested in the symbolical meaning of this number which embodies disorder, instability and uncertainty. The unity summed up to the number twelve indicates a rupture in the harmony: 13 is a number which breaks the balance and continuity law and obliges to a radical transformation.

At the end, I asked all the people who participated to tell me what they felt about the experience. Eleven answered and I reported the testimonials below. Since the beginning I knew that the project belonged to them and I sincerely thank them all for their generosity and for their trust in me.

I know it was not easy.

13 men of cleaning: Parcours

13 men of cleaning: Galerie

Testimonials

13 men of cleaning: Témoignages

«It's strange for a chaste, shy person like me ... a sensation of freedom...
This experience made me think of Serge Gainsbourg who was a timid guy until he accepted to pose naked for a photographer and so doing he felt liberated and he could easily took off his clothes afterwards. The same happened to me. Since I posed naked for you I feel better, even when walking around the house without clothes... Thank you Barbara!»

some reactions

"I do not take off my clothes to become famous. Considering the importance or the perversion that your obsession for nudity takes, I forbidden you to publish nude photos of myself! I posed for you as we were intimate."

(Man of cleaning n°0)

"Forget me! I cannot understand how a woman who wants an ordinary life can do that. You will tell me that this is art, but you must be single to do that. Good luck!"

(My mate the day the project was published)

"Bravo! It is wonderful! I do like the introduction very much ... The photographs are beautiful and desecrate all the taboos built around the body and sexuality. It is powerful!"

(Séverine, friend and supporter of the project)

"Through these portraits you try to seize male identity which does not necessarily coincide with the sex or the gender. Nudity is always the focus even when the subject is on the side and tension remains high even when the sexual characters are hidden.

Still, we know less and less on identity and finally it seems impossible to look at it clearly.

The flu, the subject moving, the close perspective remove any certainty and confuse the spectator.

Most of these portraits lack of a central convergence. It is the complexity of the composition that counts. When the penis is not there, you look for something else. Penis is a catalyst.

Sometimes, highly contrasting and blinding lights deform the bodies. By cutting the contours of the chair you take off strength and the body becomes fragile."

(One of the men of cleaning after visioning the project)

"This project deserves to be continued because the struggle does not stop!"

(Brigitte B.A., friend)