About

The photographic work of Roger Weiss delves deeply into contemporary Anthropic identity. Weiss, a Swiss photographer, graduated summa cum laude from the Brera Academy of Fine Arts in Italy, reelaborates human bodies through fragmentations, hybridisations, dilations, and photographic reconstructions, to reveal the archetypal form of the human being.

His work has been exhibited at exhibit spaces and art fairs in Europe and the US including: Ohsh Projects, London (UK), Gallery Sèbastien Lepeuve, Clichy (FR), Snap! Orlando Gallery, Orlando (US), Limonaia di Villa Strozzi, Florence (IT), Museo del Barocco (IT), Gervasuti Foundation, Venice (IT), Deutsch-Amerikanisches Institut, Heidelberg (DE), Kulturzentrum Alte Kaserne, Winterthur (CH).
He has several publications in books and leading trade magazines including: The Opéra, Kerber publisher, book (DE), The Song of Songs, which is Solomon's, Josef Weiss Private Press, book (CH), Doppelgänger, Image of the Human Being, Gestalten publisher, book (DE), Schön! Magazine (UK), Carnale Magazine (IT), Digit! Magazine (DE), Blink Magazine (Korea), and interviews including Exibart (IT), ArtsLife (IT), i-D (UK), Dazed (UK), Vogue Italia (IT), RSI (CH), NY ARTS (USA). His collaborations include brands such as Apple, Enterprise Japan, Amina Muaddi and Wolford.
From 2017 to 2020 he was the art director of Collectible DRY magazine.

Portrait

Selected Shows

Group Show: Ohsh Projects
Liquify
London, UK
co-curated by Jon Baker and OHSH Projects

Art Fair: MIA Milan Image Art Fair
LOOKING AT HER
Paola sosio contemporary art milan, IT
Curated by DOMENICO DE CHIRICO

Group Show: FUMES AND PERFUMES
FUMES AND PERFUMES 9.0
Stuttgart, DE (Catalogue)

Group Show: Gallery SÈBASTIEN LEPEUVE
21
Clichy, FR

Group Show: Museo Regionale della Bonifica di Cà Vendramin
L’energia della creatività
Rovigo, IT
Curated byi Melania Ruggini

Group Show: Limonaia di Villa Strozzi
Diari Urbani
Florence, IT
curated by Chiara Massini

Group Show: Museo del Barocco
LA BELLEZZA SOSPESA TRA VISIONE E REALTà
Noto, IT (catalogue)
curated by Chiara Massini

Art Fair: Photissima Art Fair
Welcome to the jungle!
Torin, IT
Curated by Famiglia Margini gallery Milan, IT

Solo Show: PArCo | Padiglione Arte Contemporanea
Cyclical Time
Casier, IT
Curated by Chiara Massini

Group Show: Gervasuti Foundation
SCREAMING SCREEN
Venice, IT

Solo Show: Association Oltre la Moda, Spazio Luigi Salvioli artist representatives s.r.l. LULÙ
Milan, IT
Curated by Luigi Salvioli

Solo Show: Deutsch-Amerikanisches Institut
Sospension
Heidelberg, DE
Curated by Jakob J. Köllhofer

Group Show: Kulturzentrum Alte Kaserne
Start 2
Winterthur, CH
Curated by Iren Tanner

Selected Artwork

Hysteria
Human Dilatations
Flat Humans
Genealogy of a Body
Survey of Human Map
Intimate Archive
Cyclical Time
Be Two
I am Flesh

Selected Interviews

Magazine: Collater.al
LE HUMAN DILATATIONS DI ROGER WEISS
7 July 2023, IT
Text by Giorgia Massari

Blog: Exibart
OTHER IDENTITY #49. ALTRE FORME DI IDENTITÀ CULTURALI E PUBBLICHE: ROGER WEISS
Issue 49, 17 feb. 2023, IT
Interviewer: Francesco Arena

Newspaper: ArtsLife
ROGER WEISS: RIELABORARE IL CORPO ALLA RICERCA DEL SUO ARCHETIPO
the cultural revolution online, 19 Jan. 2023, IT
Interviewer: Rebecca Delmenico

Magazine: Carnale Magazine
HUMAN DILATATIONS
Issue 3, 10 pages + a limited edition poster of 100,
size 203x140cm. Sept. 2022, IT
Interview by Lorenzo Ottone

Magazine: SFG Magazine
THERE ARE NO IDEAS THAT ARE NOT CON- NECTED WITH PERSONAL EXPERIENCE, DESIRES AND FEARS
12 Feb. 2022, UA
Interviewer: Sergey Gutakovsky
Translation: Angelina Petrova
Editor: Sergey Fomkin

Magazine: Swarm Magazine
HUMAN DILATATIONS
02 Sept. 2021, Prague, Czechia
Interview by Markéta Kosinová

Podcast: SPREAKER Podcast
ROGER WEISS E L’ARTE DEL KINTSUGI
00:12:34, 02 July 2021, IT
by Alessio Bottiroli
On The Nature Of Light
Un podcast di e sulla fotografia

Magazine: I-D
I CORPI DISTORTI ED EMANCIPATI NEGLI SCATTI DI ROGER WEISS PER LA COLLEZI- ONE AMINA MUADDI X WOLFORD
29 July 2021, IT
TEXT by Carolina Davalli

Blog: The Dummy’s Tales
ROGER WEISS, IL CORPO ANARCHICO
08 Feb. 2021, IT
TEXT by Francesca Interlenghi

Magazine: Art Super Magazine
ROGER WEISS: EATING, THE ACT OF CONFIDENCE
Jan. 2018, IT
Interview by Annalisa Scandroglio

Magazine: D’Scene Magazine
THE PERSPECTIVE OF ROGER WEISS
4 pages, Dec, 2017, UK
Interview by Sav Liotta

Magazine: Digit! Magazine
AUSWEITUNG DER KOMFORTZONE
8 pages, Oct/Nov 2016, DE
Interview by Von Peter Schuffelen

Magazine: Hestetika Magazine
HUMAN DILATATIONS
8 pages, Oct. 2016, IT
Interview by Valentina De’ Mathà

Magazine: Dazed
THESE PHOTOGRAPHS EXPLORE NEW PER- SPECTIVES OF FEMALE BEAUTY
26 June 2016, UK
Interview by Ione Gamble

Blog: FotoRoom
HUMAN DILATATIONS: Roger Weiss Creates Mind-Blowing Portraits of Dilated Female Bodies
02 May 2016, IT

Rubrique: Les Blogs DE l’ART HELVÈTIQUE CONTEMPORAIN
UN HOMME EN MOUVEMENT: PORTRAIT DE L’ARTISTE DE THURGOVIE ROGER WEISS
23 July 2015, CH
Interview byJ-Paul Gavard-Perret
Rubrique des arts plastiques et de la littérature en Suisse

Magazine: Vogue Italia
ROGER WEISS
05 April 15, IT
Interview by Alessia Glaviano

TV: RSI, Cult Tv
ROGER WEISS
03 March 2014, CH

Magazine: Ticino Welcome Magazine
VOGLIO SCOPRIRE NUOVI TERRITORI DA ESPLORARE E RACCONTARE
6 pages, Sept/Nov, 2013, CH

Magazine: Blink Magazine
ROGER WEISS
14 pages + Cover, 2012, Korea

Magazine: NY Arts magazine
I AM FLESH
1 page, Summer 2011, NY

Magazine: Twill magazine
35 AN ETHMOGRAPHIC PROJECT
10 pages, June 2010, FR
TEXT by Adriano Zamperini

Magazine: Fotocomputer Magazine
ROGER WEISS
Issue 67, 6 pages, April 2005, IT

Special Projects

Enterprise Japan
Carnale Magazine
Learnn
Apple
Collectible DRY
Cosha
Wolford｜Amina Muaddi
Camilla Sparksss
Schön! Magazine

Selected Publications

BOOK: Seltmann Publisher
FUMES AND PERFUMES
10 pages, 18 Jan. 2024, DE
Herausgeber / Editors: Frank Bayh & Steff Rosenberger-Ochs, Peter Franck, Bernd Kammerer, Monica Menez und Yves Noir

MAGAZINE: WeAr Magazine
We Are One
Issue 75, 1 page, March 2023. IT
Enterprise Japan FW23 Campaign

BOOK: Dumont Publisher
I SEE VULVAS EVERYWHERE
1 page, 18 July. 2023, DE
By Lisa Frischemeier

Book: Kerber Publisher
THE OPÉRA
10 pages, 14 Nov. 2022, DE
Edited by Matthias Straub Designed by Steffen Knöll Designed by Sven Tillack
Limited anniversary issue of The Opéra – Magazine for Contemporary Nude Photography – including its most famous positions of the past as well as new views on the human body

Magazine: Carnale Magazine
HUMAN DILATATIONS
Issue 3, 10 pages + a limited edition poster of 100,
size 203x140cm. Sept, 2022, IT

MAGAZINE: The Opéra Magazine
THE HUG
Volume X, 10 pages, 12 July 2021, DE

Magazine: D’Scene Magazine
THE PERSPECTIVE OF ROGER WEISS
4 pages, Dec, 2017, UK

MAGAZINE: The Opéra Magazine
HUMAN DILATATIONS
Volume VI, 8 pages, Oct. 2017, DE

MAGAZINE: Schön Magazine
HUMAN DILATATIONS
Issue 33, 10 pages, Oct. 2017, UK

BOOK: Josef Weiss Private Press
THE SONG OF SONGS, WHICH IS SOLOMON’S, 2016, CH

Magazine: Digit! Magazine
AUSWEITUNG DER KOMFORTZONE
8 pages, Oct/Nov 2016, DE

Magazine: Hestetika Magazine
HUMAN DILATATIONS
8 pages, Oct. 2016, IT

Magazine: Ticino Welcome Magazine
VOGLIO SCOPRIRE NUOVI TERRITORI DA ESPLORARE E RACCONTARE
6 pages, Sept/Nov, 2013, CH

Magazine: Blink Magazine
ROGER WEISS
Cover + 14 pages, 2012, Korea

BOOK: Gestalten Publishers
DOPPELGÄNGER, IMAGE OF THE HUMAN BEING
2 pages, Jan. 31, 2011, DE

Magazine: NY Arts magazine
I AM FLESH
1 page, Summer 2011, NY

Magazine: Twill magazine
35 AN ETHMOGRAPHIC PROJECT
10 pages, June 2010, FR
TEXT by Adriano Zamperini

Magazine: Fotocomputer Magazine
ROGER WEISS
Issue 67, 6 pages, April 2005, IT

2016｜Dazed

These Photographs Explore New Perspectives of Female Beauty

Dazed, 260616, UK
Interview by Ione Gamble

Inspired by ancient Japanese art of Kintsugi, photographer Roger Weiss pieces together hundreds of photograph fragments to break down beauty ideals

After finding himself increasingly disassociating with imagery depicting the female form and viewing anatomy as devoid of all meaning, reduced to a set of codes and combinations as opposed to the curves and flaws that make us human, Swiss photographer Roger Weiss became increasingly frustrated with the lack of humanity throughout imagery that represents what makes us human.

Aiming to expose the lack of meaning in our contemporary visual representations of the female body, his series “Human Dilatations” (which originally appeared on Fotografia) aims to remove this indifference, pushing our physical forms to the extreme through distortion, embracing the so-called ‘imperfections’ that have lead to our exaggerated beauty ideals within modern society. Inspired by Kintsugi, (a Japanese reparation technique that uses gold to fill cracks), Weiss fragments his subjects into multiple images – assembling hundreds of fragments of photographs of the same subject that are taken from different perspectives to ensure every facet of the model is depicted in focus. Below we sit down with the photographer to discuss hypocritical beauty, aesthetic functions and the woman as a modern day totem.

When did you first pick up a camera?

My first camera was a black Nikkormat that my father gave me for a photography class at school. I immediately felt a sense of freedom linked to the object itself and to the idea that through this box I would be able to better understand my own thoughts by putting it down on paper. However, after producing the first prints I was so disappointed that I abandoned it and only resumed using it many years later at the Brera Academy of Fine Arts.

How did you get the idea for “Human Dilatations”, and what is the series all about?

Modern life is rooted in a telematics dimension of which the head has become the undisputed symbol, and the body is superfluous unless it is so perfect that it can be put on display to perform an aesthetic function alone. “Human Dilatations” eliminates these two elements to show us a body with parts of exasperated proportions and a head that wanes without trace, to create a rift between the vulnerability of the human and the two pillars that distinguish the contemporary man: physical perfection and the power/role of the mind.

What inspires you so much about the female figure?

The comparison with women, my companion piece, originates from the desire to nurture a personal awareness that becomes wider and richer each time, through a dialectic vision. In this process, photography is the medium that more than any other allows me to log details that would otherwise get lost. In the beginning, it was all about storing information that I freely acquired, letting the subject become a hero of himself. Nowadays, through a more structured work, I try to go beyond one’s own identity.

Thereby changing it to a figure that can be ascribed to all women and none in particular. In “Human Dilatations”, I gave substance to my vision of the woman while maintaining a certain level of detachment from the beauty stereotypes of our times. Initially, I drew inspiration from primordial figures like the Venus figurines dating back to the Palaeolithic period and their symbolic meaning, to then initiate a broader and freer journey, which I embarked on in search for my idea of perfection – my contemporary totem.

“Each period has its own standards and I believe that this is necessary to evolution, to define limits that are in turns demolished in order to create new and broader ones” –

You’ve previously mentioned the idea of the modern totem- how does the idea of this come into play throughout the series?

My work is based on transformation. I change from the individual to shapes which do not only represent their group but are more the container of our feelings formed by taboos – the most ancient prohibitions – by desire, and by fears as if they are embodied in a totem and its laws. There are two ways of creating: the first is to eliminate the superfluous to free the work of art that is contained in the raw material, the second is to add to the raw material until we reach to the limit that we imposed upon ourselves. Like a sculptor, I have found in the woman the raw material from which I have eliminated what I considered unnecessary to extract my modern totem. The totem forges thoughts and represents the whole around which rituals can be created. It encloses everything that people can think or desire, it represents the relationships between men and women, thus becoming a taboo. A taboo with its most ancient prohibitions, which remains intact because it may not be touched.

Do you wish for the series to make a wider comment on the way we view the female body as a society?

Everyone is responsible for what they spread. In my case I give form to, and reveal, my images. Everything that this entails is subject to who decides to confront it, and to what extent they do so. My wish is to be able to transmit my signal, among the infinite existing ones, that may provide an additional basis for reflection.

Why do you choose to create short films to accompany the series?

One of the challenges I encounter in my work is how to display pieces that should be enjoyed in real life on the internet. They are loaded with information and are designed for large-scale viewing. That is why I have decided to create short videos that enable the viewer to approach the detail and perceive the otherwise hidden nature.

You’ve said desire is important to your practise, but how does this manifest itself in your imagery?

I believe that I am an aesthete and naturally susceptible to what is currently thought of as beauty. Each period has its own standards and I believe that this is necessary to evolution, to define limits that are in turns demolished in order to create new and broader ones. The question of beauty is is rooted in our deepest self, in our most primeval sphere – in determining what triggers our desire: the driving engine behind the achievement of everything that requires effort. In my mind, the direction for an artist is the one synonymous with dedication to the search for alternatives to the dominant thoughts in our society while remaining loyal to those same existential questions that have accompanied us since the day of reason – who we are, what is the sense of our lives, where are we going.

“The dehumanisation and commodification of women belongs to a specific cultural heritage, which is difficult to eradicate”

How do we move away from sexual objectification of the female form?

The dehumanisation and commodification of women belongs to a specific cultural heritage, which is difficult to eradicate. Though one cannot give up such a position from one day to the next I still believe that, even in their smallness, great things may gradually change. Breaking these cycles that take us rationally back to before the experience took place could be the first step to create new scales of values. Before the image of the woman as an object I have placed my wish to create images that are born from the incompleteness with which men share their lives. I focused on the reinterpretation of the body through the assistance of perspectives and distortions for which we have less experience, and through the obsessive collection of hidden information that is related to the photographic detail of the captured surface. From this process I have created a rift between what we know through our daily stereotype-based experience, and things against which we build defences.