University of Leeds
School of Fine Art, History of Art & Cultural Studies
Panopticism
Who Owns the Body?
Looking？
Being looked at？
Thinking about being looked at？
When you look at yourself, who do you see?
Does a true, whole, unbiased representation of oneself exist, or are we all knowingly trapped in a panopticon?
Who are you when you are not in front of a lens?
Who were these individuals outside of the paintings they have been trapped in?
We invite you to explore ideas of the gaze, and what it truly means to be seen.
Sourced from The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collection and curated by MA students from The University of Leeds, Body and Lens asks questions about the self and the other through canvas paintings across the 19th and 20th centuries. Like snapshots from an unrelated third person, we are shown who the artist wants us to see.
Panopticon
Panopticon is a concept from philosopher Michel Foucault.
It describes a system where people might be watched at any time — even if no one is actually watching. Because of this possibility, people learn to watch and control themselves.