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Jesper Just (Copenhagen)
Invitation to Love (2003)
DVD, 8:00 min
Invitation to Love takes place in a baroque room, where portraits of past professors of art witness a drama unfolding between two men. Jesper Just works have often been interpreted as homo-erotic, but the word “queer” with all its connotations would perhaps be more appropriate. The films could perhaps be construed as feminist, at least to the extent that feminism is about the recognition of sexuality as a social construct and not about the problem of sexual equality. This attempt to challenge the viewer’s horizon in regard to stereotypical expectations towards gender roles is a crucial aspect of Just’s artistic endeavor. In Invitation to Love, the younger man desires the love of the older man, insisting on his exhibitionism in the dance – a role he ends up taking on voluntarily. It seems that dance itself is a central, meaningful element in all of Just’s videos, both literally and metaphorically. Dancing becomes an image of love; or more properly: a mutual exchange of love. As such, dance becomes a motif for a broader concept of masculinity that Just encourages in his works: an imago of identity that opens up a conception of man as imbued with feelings and sensuality.
(Extracts from Kristine Kern: "Stripping fully clothed. Passionate Glances - Role-play and masculine identity in the works of Jesper Just")
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Jesper Just, Invitation to Love, 2003
8:00 min, videostill
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