(In)Visible Processes Exhibition, 2021.
View of Bibiano's Ph.D. research artwork on display at the Lethaby Gallery.
For the first time in its history, Central Saint Martins invited 12 Ph.D. researchers who had completed their doctoral thesis to showcase their work in the exhibition (In)Visible Processes. With one of the largest Ph.D. cohorts at the University of the Arts London, Central Saint Martins is at the forefront of research in the context of art and design.
Scroll down to see more of Bibiano's practice-based Ph.D. research at Central Saint Martins.
Titled OUT OF SIGHT: Exploring Desire, Visuality And The Obscene Through Photographic Practice, Bibiano's lens-based Ph.D. research at Central Saint Martins, London, explores how photographic representation mobilises desire through the gaze. Scroll down to view the practical element of his research (in order of appearance in the thesis).
Informed by the work of Jacques Lacan (2006), the research investigates what it might mean ‘to come out’ through photographic practice, considering aspects of secrecy as activators of desire in looking. It begins by exploring the notion of the obscene according to the Greek etymology of the term ob skene (“off-stage”), when violent parts of Greek plays were acted, not in front of the audience, but out of sight (Mey, 2007). In light of this concept, the practice-based research was conducted in places in London where anonymous encounters take place out of sight of ‘the public’, such as sex shops, newsagents, gay bathhouses, sex clubs and a public toilet.
The methodology is informed by Michel Foucault (1977; 1978; 2003), whose work considers the construction of visuality in the context of architectural and social spaces (hospitals, schools, asylums and prisons); spaces that condition how we look and determine what can be seen through relations of power (Rajchman, 1988).
If you would like to obtain a pdf copy of his thesis, please get in touch by sending an email to fagner@fagnerbibiano.com.
Undercover, 2013.
Grey Linen Hard Cover Artist Book.
28cm x 21cm.
This artist book consists of photographs of pornographic magazines displayed on shelves in newsagents across London.
Hover over image and click on arrows to see all photographs in this collection.
Come Inside Me, 2019.
Panorama installation.
8 single photographs assembled side by side.
42cm x 29cm each photograph.
Length of installation: 237cm.
Photographs of doorways of sex shops in London.
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From The Bathhouse, 2014.
C-Type Digital Print.
Fuji Matt Paper.
127cm x 101cm.
Photograph of a white towel from a gay bathhouse in London.
Out Of The Bathhouse, 2015.
C-Type Digital Print.
Fuji Matt Paper. 127cm x 101cm.
Portraits with a towel from a gay bathhouse in London.
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G(r)ay Area, 2016.
Digital Giclé Print.
Hahnemühle German Etching Paper.
84cm x 59cm.
Photographs of the façade of sites where male encounters take place in London.
The heavy weight paper on which the image is printed has a strong mottled texture.
Upon closer inspection of the image, graphic details begin to emerge against the gray background.
The raised surface texture accentuates the physicality of the surface of the paper.
Hover over image and click on arrows to see all photographs in this collection.
Of Black Holes And Other Glories, 2013.
Black Leather Hard Cover Artist Book.
28cm x 21cm.
This artist book consists of photographs of glory holes from a gay bathhouse in London.
Text printed on the first page of this artist book:
"Glory holes are holes on the wall. The term is used to refer to holes on walls which divide cubicles in public toilets in shopping centres, train stations, gyms, sports clubs and public parks. Glory Holes are often made by the public who attend these facilities in order to establish some sort of contact with users on the adjacent side of the partition. Nowadays, glory holes have made their way beyond the 'public sphere' and can also be found in places like private sex clubs, gay bathhouses, and at times in nightclubs, (re)built purposefully to replicate this scenario, for the leisure of men who engage with other men sexually but wish to do so somewhat anonymously and away from the risk of physical violence".

Hover over image and click on arrows to see all photographs in this collection.
Gentlemen, 2016.
Ivory Linen Hard Cover Artist Book.
19.5cm x 19.5cm.
This artist book is constituted by photographs of the wall tiles of a male public toilet in London.
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Invitation To My Opening , 2021.
Postcard.
14.8cm x 10.5cm.
This piece constitutes Bibiano's response to Robert Mapplethorpe's Invitation to Light Gallery Opening, January, 1976. Mapplethorpe's polaroid photograph was placed inside a plastic sleeve and Tiffany's blue envelope, and sent as an invite to the guests of the opening of his exhibition. Bibiano's piece was created as a response to the question of Mapplethorpe's influence upon his art practice; a question posed by one of his examiners at his Ph.D. Viva Voce. Like Mapplethorpe, Bibiano exclaims: “Don’t touch!”; a statement that reinforces the idea of ‘look but do not touch’, a refusal of satiety. Following Mapplethorpe's steps, Bibiano sent the photograph in the post to the guests of the opening of the exhibition (In)Visible Processes, where his work was on display (see first image at the top of this page).
Other photographic works exploring the concepts of desire, visuality and obscene (not included in the final version of Bibiano's thesis):
The Missing Part (Diptych), 2018.
Digital Giclée Print.
Hahnemühle Pearl Paper.
84cm x 59cm each photograph.
The Skin Of The Photograph, 2013.
C-Type Digital Print.
Metallic Kodak Paper.
127cm x 101cm.
The photographs in this series show images of sexual encounters in which the participants do not wear any form of protection against sexually transmitted diseases. The photographs were taken by placing a condom in front of the camera lens.
Hover over image and click on arrows to see all photographs in this collection.
Status Unknown, 2011.
C-Type Digital Print.
Mounted on Acrylic Reverse and Box-Framed.
Fuji Matt Paper.
75cm x 75cm.
A series of photographs of the semen of men who engage in sexual activities with strangers, all of whom were unsure of their HIV status at the time the photographs were taken. Because of its reflective surface, when facing the piece and directing their gaze at the photograph, the observer sees their reflection upon the representation of the semen of a stranger.
Hover over image and click on arrows to see all photographs in this collection.
Waiting For Desire, 2011.
C-Type Digital Print.
Kodak Matallic Paper.
127cm x 101cm.
A series of photographs of cruising grounds in London.
Hover over image and click on arrows to see all photographs in this collection.
Anima, 2008.
C-Type Digital Print.
Fuji Gloss Paper.
127cm x 101cm.
An imagined scenario.
The following bibliography constitutes the core philosophical texts that underpin Bibiano's research:
Lacan, J. 2006. Écrits – The First Complete Edition in English. New York & London: W.W. Norton & Company.
Foucault, M. 1977. Discipline and Punish – The Birth of the Prison. London: Penguin Books.
Foucault, M. 1978. The Will to Knowledge: The History of Sexuality - Volume 1: An Introduction. New York: Pantheon Books.
Foucault, M. 2003, The Birth of the Clinic. Oxford: Routledge.
Mey, K. 2007. Art & Obscenity. London and New York: I. B. Tauris.
Rachman, J. 1988. Foucault’s Art of Seeing. In: October, Vol. 44.