L.A. Raeven
Liesbeth and Angelique Raeven studied at the Jan Van Eyck Academy in Maastricht and in 2002, as a duo, they won the Charlotte Köhler prize. They are represented by Ellen de Bruijne Projects in Amsterdam, Haas & Fischer Gallery in Zurich and LMAK Projects in New York.
The artistic duo L.A. Raeven (Liesbeth and Angelique Raeven) create confrontational videos, performances, photographs, drawings and installations in which the twins themselves often play the leading role. The sisters criticise the western ideal of beauty by focussing on the manufacturability of the human body. They also stage-manage situations in which this phenomenon is visible; for instance, via advertisements they tempted young people to undergo the physical and mental torture to which models and dancers are often subjected during auditions.
Within this theme, L.A. Raeven are investigating the concepts of individuality and identity. Society currently urges people to be strong and perfect, but how can you retain your own identity within an ideal that is imposed en masse? The artists also ask these questions in relation to their symbiotic relationship as twins. What relationship do the two woman have to one another as individuals? L.A. Raeven portray their mutual love-hate relationship by means of a literal wrestling match with one another.