The body is a living archive, constantly evolving and recording every experience. The Body Archive exhibition at Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery brings together the practices of Manuela Benaim, Makiko Harris, and Emily Pope, exploring the female body as a surface, a space, and a symbol.
Emily Pope’s meticulously cropped paintings place viewers in the role of voyeurs, as if peering through a keyhole. Depicting voluptuous torsos with exposed breasts, drawn from art-historical references and personal archives, these works feel both familiar and unsettling. By deliberately abstracting the figures’ context, Pope invites reflection on the history of women’s objectification.
Makiko Harris’s new works, at first glance, resemble garter stockings but, upon closer inspection, reveal body fragments crafted from rigid galvanized steel. This steel mesh replaces the softness of traditional lingerie, transforming exposure into a claim of autonomy and resistance. Harris critiques the commodification of the body, asserting that what is seen is not always a passive invitation but an active negotiation. For the first time in this exhibition, her steel mesh takes the form of portrait masks.
Sculptor Manuela Benaim’s faces, cast in silicone and sealed in resin, reveal how the body is scrutinized and frozen in time. These faces feel like remnants of abandoned selves or moments just before transformation. Her framed navel sculptures serve as quiet monuments to origins, honoring the connection between individuality and shared human experience.
Body Archive invites us to reconsider the body—shaped by history and culture—as a space for reclamation, resistance, and reimagination.
Exhibition Details:
Artists: Manuela Benaim, Makiko Harris, Emily Pope
Title: Body Archive
Venue: Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, Berlin
Dates: October 16 – November 15, 2025
