Liliane Vertessen attracted attention from the mid/late 1970s with her staged self-portraits, for which she assumes the roles of various fictional characters. Usually scantily clad and in a defiant pose, she plays different types of women (vamp, Lolita, diva, dominatrix, etc.) as these are propagated by the film and advertising world. Her photos do not convey a sense of victimhood, but rather empowerment and self-awareness. The images are combined with bright neon lights and sensual accessories such as glitter, plush, sequins and feathers. Fortified by the effect of neon and mirrors, Vertessen conjures up the phantasmagoria of strip clubs and brothels, where her gaze crosses that of the viewer in an endless vortex of seduction and desire, exhibitionism and voyeurism. Sometimes Vertessen also sets her photographs within larger spatial installations.
