Klauke’s performance-based works Physiognomien (Physiognomies) consist of a sequence of close-ups depicting the artist acting out fictional characters in front of the camera, making nuanced changes in facial expression and pose. Disguised with makeup, Klauke unwraps conventional gender and sex roles to reveal a sense of discovery of his own identity through otherness. The sequence of portraits functions as an ambiguous document that is simultaneously authentic and theatrical, probing culturally constructed parameters of identity.
Gallery label from XL: 19 New Acquisitions in Photography, May 10, 2013–January 6, 2014.