Background information
"Through photography and text, Danish artist Matilde Søes RASMUSSEN explores her time as a professional model in Asia. Having spent more than a decade in the industry, she now turns her attention to questioning its power structures, beauty ideals, and objectification. The photo volume 'Unprofessional' is a playful and crushing book that moves between documentary and fiction, performance and real life, wherein Matilde RASMUSSEN uses her own body to investigate how these structures impact her self-image and identity. It is an attempt to find meaning in a career as a model, as an ever-changing character, and as something that is constantly being assessed, bought and admired.
Content
The book 'Unprofessional' by Matilde RASMUSSEN is a mix self-portraits alongside still lifes, landscapes, and photographs of friends and acquaintances. We see fruits cut in half, a naked back and the model sitting lost in a studio wearing a green fur and swim flippers. A kaleidoscope of colour and form envelops her as she shapeshifts through the pages: hair spiky then slicked; makeup natural then extreme; naked then exquisitely dressed. Short texts, almost like diary entries, punctuate the book, revealing her first-hand experiences and reflections." (© Disko Bay, 2021)