Heji Shin: The Big Nudes

Heji Shin’s photographic practice pushes boundaries and challenges societal ideals surrounding fashion, celebrity, and sexuality.

“The German artist . . . is one of the wildest experimentalists working in photography today.” —Interview magazine

Shin’s practice oscillates fluidly between the commercial and fine-art realms, and the work she exhibits in gallery and museum contexts is strongly influenced by the editorial work she produces. For THE BIG NUDES, a title that appropriates Helmut Newton’s series of the same name, Shin photographed pigs at close range, employing the vernacular of fashion photography to transform the pigs into models who appear to flirt with and pose for the camera. The photographs are paired with MRI scans and a holographic model of Shin’s brain—an impression of the self that troubles and transforms our foundational ideas of what constitutes a portrait.

Alongside a curator’s note from Ebony L. Haynes, this publication features a text by Benoît Lamy de La Chapelle that explores the interplay between Shin’s commercial and fine-art practices. This insightful analysis provides a deeper understanding of Shin’s work, shedding light on the nuances of her artistic choices.