Chromatic Veil — Catherine (US),  (Triptych) London 2022

“Chromatic Veil — Catherine (US)” situates the body in a field of pure colour and tension. The subject is wrapped in transparent plastic against a wall of saturated graffiti; beauty collides with suffocation. The surface of the skin becomes reflective, synthetic, almost manufactured. It’s seductive and alarming at the same time.

Menno van der Meulen uses that transparent layer as both mask and membrane: protection, fetish, containment, display. The question is not only ‘Can she breathe?’ but also ‘Who is allowed to see her like this?’ In this work, identity becomes an aesthetic object — lit, styled, exhibited — while the human underneath strains against visibility itself. The urban backdrop, loud and hyper-saturated, reads like a public stage, yet the pose feels intensely private.

This series links glamour to risk. It frames the politics of looking: desire, control, oxygen. “Chromatic Veil” refuses to choose between fashion image and survival image. It allows them to coexist in one frame.

Archival pigment print on fine art paper
© Menno van der Meulen 2025 – All Rights Reserved