Zone Grise
This project consists of a sequence of six images interpreting a dialogue between an ex-couple. This dialogue evokes an event that happened between these two people when they were still dating a few years ago. At some point, they fell into the ‘grey zone’ of consent: that moment when the desire and perseverance of one took over from the consent of the other. In some cases it's called rape, but we don't always dare use the word. In fact, the term ‘grey zone’ is often used in cases where what is happening does not resemble the classic image of rape: an attack committed by a stranger, in a dark alley, at gunpoint. In my opinion, the key to respecting consent lies in raising awareness, educating people and communicating about this issue. For this reason, I think it's essential to create a project that visually evokes this subject.
“Aline Bovard Rudaz’s work enters difficult and ambiguous territory in the context of the #metoo movement in the way that it addresses sexual consent in relationships. The focus here is not only on the victim, but on both the man and the woman and on their attempt to assess a situation. Aline managed to find a couple willing to open themselves up before her (and to each other), and I think it is a brave move from all three people involved in light of the fact that the issue at hand is so private and controversial. Yet it is also commonplace, and thus the work might further thought and debate among visitors of the exhibition. The visual form corresponds with the title and theme of the project: the figures are both concrete and abstract, individual and generic, and the negative space between them seems to contain their hitherto unspoken assumptions on sex in relationships and serves as a plane of projection for the viewer.”
Exhibition view of reGeneration3 by Yannick Luthy, Musée de l’Elysée, Lausanne