Carmen Westermeier
Mentee: Anike Joyce Sadiq
Carmen Westermeier (*1985) lives and works in Stuttgart. They studied Fine Arts and Media Art as well as Exhibition Design/Scenography and Art Education at the Karlsruhe University of Arts and Design and the Academy of Fine Arts in Nuremberg.
Westermeier’s interdisciplinary artistic practice encompasses a wide range of media including photography, performance art, video, sound and virtual reality. They often work with site- and room-specific installations to create an immersive experience for visitors.
In terms of content, Westermeier primarily examines the interrelationships and interaction of various social, cultural and political discourses that shape our understanding of identity, physicality and society. A great interest is placed in how these discourses are shaped in the present and in history and how we can reinterpret and deconstruct them through our artistic efforts.
Westermeier’s work focuses on norming processes, demonstrating that discourses on the body and identity are really discourses of power that are often characterised by sexist, racist and classist implications. The discrimination against marginalised bodies is reflected in the capitalist image of a body that is frequently influenced by instructions on how much exercise and a healthy lifestyle is necessary and how it should conform to a certain assigned aesthetic. One constant is the departure from one’s own body, whereby autobiographical narratives are often unfolded and the structural problems are always addressed as well.
Westermeier has worked as a duo with Julia Hainz numerous times since 2014. They are currently working together on the performative artistic research project “The Symbiotic Approach”.
www.thesymbioticapproach.com
www.carmenwestermeier.de