Introduction
In summer 2012, the UK National Gallery staged an exhibition entitled “Metamorphosis: Titian 2012”, which set three paintings by Titian against modern responses to them by three artists: Chris Ofili, Conrad Shawcross, and Mark Wallinger. Inspired by Titian’s painting “Diana and Actaeon”, Mark Wallinger devised an installation consisting of a modern bathroom with a live naked female bather, representing the Greek goddess Diana. The role of the huntsman Actaeon was taken by each individual member of the viewing public. He or she stood outside the bathroom (which from the outside was simply a black box), but was able to look in by peeping through four small apertures, one in each wall. Wallinger wanted to make his viewers modern voyeurs, watching her just as Actaeon spied on the goddess Diana bathing.
The role of Diana was shared by six women (working two-hour shifts). Each of them was really called Diana, and they were apparently recruited partly through Twitter. According to press reports after the opening, there was a problem with people staying in the room too long, and Gallery staff were instructed to announce “Only ten minutes in this room” if it started to get crowded, and move people on if necessary.
Wallinger's work is witty and amusing. If it has a weakness, it is that misses one element of voyeurism, which is that it is illicit. The person should not know they are being watched. Here, the viewer and viewed are complicit, which also removes the element of guilt which the voyeur should feel. Also, in the original myth there was a serious outcome. Actaeon’s punishment for his accidental voyeurism was death: metamorphosed into a stag and killed by his own dogs. I wondered if, by imagining an element of real sexual activity, I could re-introduce at least a little bit of that danger.
Diana and Me
i. Annie
It’s pitch black when I walk in
A black room in the middle of a black room
Slowly my eyes adjust
A few shadowy figures move around
Leaning in to peer through small gaps
Waiting for their turn to peep
Black door in a black wall
The low keyhole the only patch of light
I bend to look through
And there she is
Diana
In her bath
Right opposite the keyhole
Only her head, bare shoulders
And the tops of her breasts are visible
Twist of plaited hair round her head
She looks young
A pretty profile
Dark eyes
Full lips
I can hear the gentle lapping of the water in the bath
Tantalising
Invisible
Standing, my eyes readjust to the dark
I move clockwise
To the next black wall
Two small eyeholes drilled at eye height
This time, the view is over the bath
But the field of view is too narrow
All I can see is a toilet and shower cubicle opposite
I hear a splash of water
Below my eye-line
Tantalising
Invisible
The third black wall has a window
Closed Venetian blinds obstruct the view
Narrow gaps between the slats
Two tiny nicks in them
Just enough to peep through
I can see the door
A chair
There’s the end of the bath
I can see the water
But Diana is crouched further up
Tantalising
Invisible
One last wall
A window of frosted glass panes
At eye-level a broken triangle
Someone already there
Peering through
I wait for them to move
Seems like ages
Then my turn comes
I lean in
And my heart leaps
At the perfect view
Looking right down at her
She is beautiful
Lying in the waist-deep water
Soapy and full of bubbles
Hiding the parts of her body
That lie under the water
One knee bent up
Sponging her pale smooth leg
Idly, she picks a hair from the sponge
Places it on the side of the bath
I stare at her bare breasts
Dark nipples
Small and firm
Gentle splash of water as she moves
She doesn’t look up
Absorbed in her ablutions
A broad golden circlet round her neck
Symbol of her divinity
Making her seem more naked
She sponges her arms
Then her shoulders
The water runs down over her breasts
A droplet hanging off her nipple for a moment
Then dropping into the water
I can feel myself getting wet too
Suddenly she raises her eyes
And for a second stares straight at me
Of course she knows where the hole is
Does she see my eye looking at her?
What is she thinking?
Does she think of us out here?
The art-lovers
Expecting to see art
And surprised by the erotic kick
The lechers after a quick thrill
The dirty old men
I’m not a dirty old man
I’m a dirty young woman
But I want my quick thrill too
My kick of lust
What is she thinking?
She seems to be trying hard
Not to seem bothered
She must be used to this by now
But one hand has been underwater for a while now
I know what I’d be doing in the bath
Obviously she wouldn’t do it
She’s a work of art
Or would she?
ii.