Here Today, Gone Tomorrow
Heli Rekula
Innocence and the loss of innocence is one of Rekula’s main themes, one she approaches precisely through the image of the child undergoing socialization towards womanhood. In a sense, the first loss of innocence takes place at the moment when the child first senses her separeteness, seeing herself through another person's eyes. Later, the images circulating in culture offer ideals and role models, shaping our conseption of our own bodies and identities. Here Today, Gone Tomorrow shows a girl alternately posing for the camera like a tourist, or pouting her lips like a model in an advertisement. Little by little the girl is loosing the learned behavior and forgets the presence of the viewing camera to let the pure child-like energy take over.
Heli Rekula
Born: 1963
8 works