Page after page they undress. Their legs laying down gracefully on a bed, resting for eternity—so it seems. Others are standing up, can you feel the warmth coming out of their skin? It seems they are dancing together from scene to scene. Inviting you to join them. Their naked bodies find refuge between the paint strokes, next to the cardboards, under the pencil marks. They will not show us their eyes, we won’t know what their faces look like. They are only bodies. Yet, can’t you feel their glance, looking right through you. First edition of 400 copies, numbered and signed. Dirty Scenes by Katrien De Blauwer (b. 1969, Belgian) accompanies her exhibition Love Me Tender in Paris, France at Galerie Les Filles du Calvaire, May 18–June 15, 2019. → A conversation with Katrien De Blauwer How did Dirty Scenes come about? The works for Dirty Scenes were created by accident while working on Why I Hate Cars and slowly it became a detached supplement. Dirty Scenes will be shown as a separate part of my exhibition in Paris, furthermore as a somber part within the main exhibition. Did you select the imagery from similar sources and time periods as for previous works? Most of my work originate from the same time period but from various contrasting sources. Only this time I started collecting material with an idea and story in mind. What was it that attracted you to making these works? It’s a story, comparable with When I Was a Boy, that I have wanted to tell for a long time. I also wanted to challenge myself by introducing new shapes, formats — with pastel and pencil. Why did you choose to present photographs of subjects without visible eyes? By cutting away visible eyes a face, or person, becomes anonymous. The viewer can identify with the image or narrative due to becoming anonymous themselves — eventually the story belongs to everyone. By adding new elements I’m creating a new contemporary mood with vintage parts. I bring stories from others into my inner world where I act as a neutral intermediary between these stories of others and my own.