Pia Stadtbäumer was born in 1959 in Münster, studied at the Art Academy in Düsseldorf. Since 1999, she is professor at the Art School in Hamburg. Her identical sculptures of a boy, Max, and a girl, Clara, were presented in several exhibitions, e.g. "KinderBlicke" (ChildrenViews: Childhood and Modernism from Klee to Boltanski") or "I YOU HE SHE IT" between 1998 and 2000.
These sculptures were modelled using photographies though the artist changed the features so that the original children would not be recognised.
The boy and the girl of approximately six years are posing motionlessly in several identical appearances. The items added to the nudity of the child which could be read as aggressive and erotic signals and which do not fit the themes of innocence or of playing. Our normal point of view is challenged in an irritating manner by means of these little additions, objects that have nothing in common with the occasional masquerade plays of childhood. An almost surreal combination of not exactly decipherable signs causes the awakening of fantastic tales, dream sequences, possibly of memories which begin a life of their own in the eye of the beholder with his projections and reflections.
The disquieting effect of the repeated presence of identical faces leaves us with further questions than just the fear of "clones".
The subject is the contemplation of identity of children and youths. What roles are they playing? Are they playing a game or are they serious about their estrangement from reality?