Photographs on fiber-based paper attached on wood panel, 90 × 110 cm

The final years of the early departed Tibor Hajas, his performances activated his body as a medium. Parallel to the live performances designed to the last detail, he made photo tableaus of performances in the studio or another closed space, without audience, in front of the camera of János Vető.

In these photographs, the artist appears in a homogenous white space, naked, in poses suggesting exposure. However, this is only the foundation of the composition: the artist charred and burned the emulsion of the developed negative, complementing the postures.

We see a double artistic expression here: on the one hand an intervention referring to the body, on the other hand a manipulation referring to the media. At the same time, they trigger the viewer both viscerally and allegorically (the latter effect is strengthened by the subtitle).

The complete “Surface Torture” series, part of the Contemporary Collection of the Hungarian National Gallery, was presented at the central exhibition of the 57^th Venice Biennale, in the section “Pavilion of Joys and Fears.” For this reason, the original work of art is currently on loan from the permanent exhibition of the Contemporary Collection of MNG, where it usually has its home.