This project offers a playful yet pointed critique of the renewed presence of traditional gender stereotypes in contemporary media. In visual cultures where masculinity remains associated with unquestioned power and femininity is frequently reduced to appearance, the work intervenes by subverting these familiar dynamics. By reversing the logic of the male gaze, it invites reflection on visibility, control, and the mechanisms of objectification.
Using found photographic imagery sourced from online platforms and search engines, the artist translates flat, two-dimensional images into tactile, three-dimensional sculptural forms. Through processes such as photomontage, kinetic automaton elements, and mechanical construction, the work reconfigures how bodies and images are encountered—shifting them from passive surfaces into interactive, unstable objects.
Historically, visual culture has reinforced uneven power structures, positioning men as active viewers and women as passive subjects. This imbalance is evident in the fragmentation and fetishization of women’s bodies, contrasted with representations of male nudity that emphasize form, strength, and artistic mastery rather than vulnerability. The project directly challenges this distinction.
The resulting anatomical sculptures deliberately unsettle these conventions. By fragmenting and reassembling the male body, the artist redirects the gaze and complicates ideas of authorship, agency, and control. Influenced by Dadaist strategies of disruption, absurdity, and anti-establishment critique, the work balances chaos with formal structure. Mechanical elements introduce cyclical movement, collapsing three-dimensional forms back into flatness and creating tension between surface and volume.
Ultimately, the project turns its focus toward the male body itself—cataloguing its parts, exposing sites of insecurity, and questioning the construction of the “ideal” male form. In doing so, it opens up space to reconsider how bodies are seen, valued, and defined.
Ciara Richardson
Ciara Richardson is an Irish photographer working primarily with collage and fine art sculpture photography, alongside ongoing experimentation across diverse genres and media. Their practice is shaped by recurring social issues and a sustained interest in how these conditions influence human emotion, behaviour, and response. A central concern is materiality, with a focus on how materials can be manipulated and recontextualised within photographic form.
Collaboration is integral to Ciara’s process. By working closely with subjects, they explore human reactions within challenging or unfamiliar situations, allowing photography to function as a participatory and investigative tool.
Looking forward, Ciara views photography as a means of engaging with urgent global concerns, including climate change, globalisation, and human rights. While addressing complex and provocative themes such as violence and racism, they prioritise ethical representation, remaining mindful of the long-term impact of images in the public domain. Respect for privacy is central, particularly within the heightened visibility of social media.
Through experimentation with tools, techniques, and materials, Ciara creates layered visual narratives that translate complexity into accessible, meaningful work, encouraging critical engagement and connection.
Ciara Richardson, How would you like it to happen to you?
New Irish Works series 2025–27
Launch 6pm Thu 14 May 2026
Running 15 May–9 August 2026
At the International Centre for the Image
