Mousework delves into the persisting grip on ‘hysteria’ as one of countless social constructs inherited from the past, underscoring its epitomization as a system aimed at maintaining the flawed patriarchal order which continues to this day. Comprising thirty-five photographic triptychs, the project uncovers photography’s critical role as an accomplice in constructing the category ‘hysteria’ and its influences on modern-day society. Azoulay’s imagery undertakes the notion of ‘hysteria’ as introduced and depicted by Jean-Martin Charcot in 19th and early 20th centuries Paris, and confronts it with the use of ‘hysteria’ as a keyword in her search through online image banks, which generated thousands of contemporary portrayals of women with a stereotyped distressed appearance. By associating the internet’s standardized female convention with Charcot’s subjective representation, Mousework validates accepted cultural and societal modes of perception as reflected in the methods of photographic practice behind them.
Mousework Braverman Gallery, Tel Aviv, 2021
