Drozdik Orshi’s (1946) series Manufacturing the SELF: The Body SELF and The Medical Venus is a manifesto of a creative woman dissatisfied with traditional gender roles. She questions centuries-old traditions, such as the representation of the female body (model, medical object) as seen through the male gaze of the scientist or artist, by placing herself in the position of the medical Venus, “lending the model a voice” through love letters on silver trays, so that she can say what she feels and thinks. The aesthetics of the medical Venus, once used as a medical illustration tool in the Museum of Medical History, are revealed in a series of photographs. The woman, depicted in a passionate posture, appears to be staging herself for the male gaze, or more precisely, the objectifying medical gaze. This is challenged by the gesture of placing herself in the situation, repeating the model’s gestures and putting herself on display. By lending the model a voice – the voice of demanding love – she transforms herself from a passive sufferer of the past into an active, self-conscious actor of the present.
Andrea Tarczali
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