Who is Adelaïde Calendar?
« The Adelaïde Calendar © Adventure Edition 2020… » The heart of the project: The calendar adventure began this autumn in Berlin at the initiative of the three artists behind the project: Mélina Bomal (Model), Olivier Schlund (graphic designer/photographer) and Sophie Scheifele (photographer/video), joined by a team of assistants, models. All volunteers. This human and artistic adventure brought together a small community of people from France, Germany, Switzerland and Spain. People of different generations and universes. With the common goal of participating in Adelaide’s artistic process on the relationship between sexuality and society. « It was the first time that we collaborated together with the means at hand, our enthusiasm, our intuition in this idea, gave the pulse. We all took the risk! » To meet, create together, participate in photographed productions, express eroticism, sexuality, talk about taboos, stick together so that the work appears to achieve the goal. A process of creation. A community of thoughts and feelings. The calendar might become your favorite calendar! But it would never have been so powerful without this adventure. We go on and on so that it arrives in your hands. But we need your help to make possible a new edition, maybe even more collective! The choice of this « calendar » format is an ideal tool to open your eyes and reflect with humour. By editing it, this everyday object becomes an object of art, committing, biting and beautiful.
Mélina Bomal Actress, author, theatre artist, iconoclast and feminist. Mother of two children. She lives in the south of France. http://melinabomal.fr
Sophie Scheifele Photographer, video and performance artist. Satiric, esthetic and contemplative kind of asking uncomfortable Questions, based in Berlin. http://sophie-scheifele.com
Olivier Schlund, Painter, graphic designer and performance artist. A poetic way to create common understanding in the societies, based in Berlin. vier-und-art.com
Partners: Bethanien Berlin: http://www.kunstraumkreuzberg.de/ Aufschnitt: https://aufschnitt.net/ Botanischer Garten Berlin
What is special about our project!
The adult calendar is both a conventional and a popular format for erotic photography. What we have done is to hijack that format and turn it into a statement of artistic commitment with an undercurrent of sarcasm and humour. Its themes are the burning issues of our time – capitalism, virtual reality, ecological crisis, immigration, gender relations – which challenge the community and the individual alike. Not forgetting sexuality, of course! Adelaïde is the main model. Through body language in a context of sex work, she gives meaning to the title and the title opens up the image to question. Adelaïde plays with the codes of erotica/porn. With her sarcasm, the «character» asks questions about our reality.
The concept Respecting a person doesn’t just mean recognising and accepting their language, their character and the colour of their skin. It also means understanding each individual’s potential to change in their own way the world we live in. We spend most of our lives working and have a direct influence on the system as a whole. Are we all artists? Are we the sleepers of a society that tries to turn a blind eye to the mess we are leaving to our children? I believe we are all politicians in our own world as soon as we think free thoughts. We are capable of changing more for ourselves and for our environment than any lobbyist, politician or stockbroker.
Calendar ADELAÏDE© 2020 is like a powerful instrument for seeing some of the problems in store for society through the eyes of a sex worker, in a very serious way, dramatic but nonetheless humorous and satirical. A perspective that conventional service providers have never given any thought to, even if they do the same thing to a certain extent. Now our calendar is done. It takes a direction which may be seen as provocative or shocking, but it is a portrait of each person found behind Adelaïde. Adelaïde: - So first things first, when I started out I didn’t know it was a job. I mean, I was still completely rotten, infested and contaminated with degrading and negative images about the work of a whore. But I did it all the same. I made my way towards those activities, I was sure of myself. I didn’t understand a thing, but I was there, all of me. So determined not to be a doormat. So no, I am not a victim. I can be fragile at times, but no, I am not a victim. Because in fact, I’m not a whore, I work as a whore and it’s a job that requires a great deal of skill, energy, even discipline, I’d say. Understanding that makes all the difference. The calendar is strongly linked to our daily, monthly and even yearly routine, and hence also to our working life and our private life. Everyone has their own experiences, which are right for them, and everyone looks towards the future in their own way. Each month we tackle a contemporary issue. We approach them in a very subtle way that is understandable to humanity.
What we need?
To speak concretely: We need 2800 franc to keep the adventure going! We ask for your full support to raise this amount. And we are very excited to give you the opportunity to support our approach with this super cool platform: we make it! Every penny is precious to us! Welcome to all scholarships. This money will be used to:
- 1,000 impressions of the 2020 edition calendar in A3 format.
- A large format fine art print of the 30 photographs for exhibitions.
- And defrayals.