The Abuse of Power series is a visual reflection on the future of social structures and how we deal with the abuse of power. It raises the question of how trauma and internalised beliefs leave traces in the body, and where the boundary lies between what is felt internally and what is visible on the outside.

Drawing on anonymous experiences shared by visitors to the ‘Blindspot’ exhibition at Galerie 21 in Hamburg’s Künstlerhaus Vorwerkstift, the series envisions a future without sexualised violence. The images serve as visual interpretations of these personal accounts.

The aesthetics of the works recall imagery from pop culture, advertising, and the media – spheres that long perpetuated the abuse of power but are now being reshaped by movements such as #MeToo. Abuse of Power weaves these individual experiences into a collective narrative, opening a space for reflection that not only challenges existing power structures, but also offers impulses for a more just future.

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Jenny Bewer, born in 1990, is a freelance artist and photographer living in Hamburg. After studying at FH Bielefeld, she took part in international residencies and has shown her work in cities such as Paris, Amsterdam, and Hamburg. Her photographs have been featured in publications including DIE ZEIT, Stern, and FAZ Quarterly. She is a member of the collective herspective, which advocates for greater visibility of women in photography. In her artistic practice, Jenny Bewer explores the intertwined themes of trauma, perception, and memory.