Darkside 1: Photographic Desire and Sexuality at Fotomuseum Winterthur

The Fotomuseum Winterthur presents 'Darkside 1: Photographic Desire and Sexuality,' an exhibition curated by director Urs Stahel, running from September 6 to November 16, 2008. The show explores the complex interplay between photography and human desire, fantasy, and sexual practices, emphasizing the medium's role in voyeurism and identity formation. Over 150 photographers and about 250 images are displayed on colored walls (blue, yellow, violet, red, green, gray) in thematic sections rather than chronological order. Sections include night cityscapes, desire and fantasy (Nobuyoshi Araki, Jeff Koons, Andres Serrano), the ideal and grotesque body (Joel-Peter Witkin, Jan Saudek), sexuality and existence (Hellen van Meene, Wolfgang Tillmans, Nan Goldin, Boris Mikhailov), fetishism (Catherine Opie, David Levinthal), voyeurism (Merry Alpern, Harry Bond), exhibitionism (Jean-Luc Moulène, Juergen Teller, Philip-Lorca diCorcia), cross-dressing and protest (Yasumasa Morimura, Jack Pierson), feminism (Guerrilla Girls, Sarah Lucas), and power and money (Terry Richardson, Larry Sultan, Susan Meiselas). A still life by Hannah Collins (Sex II, 1992) introduces the show, and two images by Ryan McGinley serve as epilogue. A catalog with essays is published by Steidl. A sequel, 'Darkside 2,' focusing on photographic power, violence, illness, and death, is scheduled for September 2009.