The Anima or Animus
With the story, The Anima or Animus, Cassar and Isaiah Walls work together to deconstruct the gender and identity of a chosen character representative of the more extended entity. Isaiah describes where the concept and the fascination with the topic derived from, “I was inspired by the physiologist Étienne-Jules Marey, his method of studying the human body, and the theory of the psychiatrist Carl Jung ‘Archetypes’: the self, the shadow, and the persona.” The approach to reading photography through psychological theories became the central theme which assisted in exploring the male figure, his body, and his identity.
It is not the first collaboration between Cassar, a Mexico-based artist and photographer, and Isaiah Walls, a creative director. The exploration of the male body and the societal understanding of gender led towards the research of the essential constructs we encounter today.
The classical beauty of the male body, a sculpture-like shape of postures emphasizing the muscles, the remarkable facial expressions point us to Cassar's explanation, “The inspiration was the old scripts about the anatomy of the late XVII, XIX centuries.” In this dialogue, we explore the conception of and the idea for the project. We raise the main questions, which acted as a leitmotif for the project, and we dwell on the understanding of what affects the person to develop the self.
‘The anima/animus represents the 'true self' rather than the image we present to others and it serves as the primary source of communication with the collective unconscious.’
— Cassar and Isaiah Walls
‘Examining self, all parts of self, being a man, and what being a man means. In short: the process of becoming self-actualized.’
— Isaiah Walls
Hi Cassar and Isaiah — we’re happy to present your new project in WÜL Magazine! So, it’s not the first project you created together. How did working on Abel come about: the ideation and the logistics?
CASSAR: It all started when Isaiah approached me with concern of portraying contemporary issues through the psychological theory of Carl Jung and the study of the body. We talked for a while about the concept and how we could materialize it. At the time, the process was very simple since we had a very clear idea of what we wanted to reflect.
Isaiah: I was inspired by the physiologist Étienne-Jules Marey, his method of studying the human body, and the theory of the psychiatrist Carl Jung ‘Archetypes’: the self, the shadow, and the persona. Capturing society's gender conception of oneself and how that affects the self, the shadow, and the persona. The process by which the personal and collective unconscious is brought into consciousness to reveal one's personality. Examining self, all parts of self, being a man, and what being a man means. In short: the process of becoming self-actualized.
CASSAR: The first thing in logistics was to find the right model since we wanted someone who reflected masculinity and at the same time transmitted part of the essence of Mexico. The second was to look for a place in addition to simply having appropriate light conditions to capture the force of the male body. The third thing was already having the photo session ready for post-production since we wanted to capture the 'aura' and each photo had a different personality. It was a time-consuming process since each final stage was the result of several tests.
Isaiah: Cassar and I have been partners creatively for a while now, producing personal projects. He has a strong curiosity in spirituality and astronomy — I knew he’d be the perfect person to understand and capture this concept.
‘As I studied Kabbalah, the human mind is full of archetypes originated by the environment, and the patriarchal role as we know it is one of them.’
— Cassar
Despite the current conversation on diversity, there are not a lot of artists focusing on male representation through the male gaze. What, do you think, can drive more attention to the subject?
Isaiah: Examining the male psyche and its connection to identity. I think that psychology, and its issues concerning gender, is a strong way to attract more people's attention to this subject. Understanding the mind and its influence on self-identity is always an effective way to understand why people are who they are.
CASSAR: I agree with Isaiah. I feel that it's very important that art begins to study science, it is a topic that is rarely applied, and it's a field rich in knowledge. As I studied Kabbalah, the human mind is full of archetypes originated by the environment, and the patriarchal role as we know it is one of them. I think that it is beautiful to touch on these topics as we have grown as species and check out those roots since we are in an inflection point where those archetypal constructions are crumbling and are giving way to new schemes that lead to a greater diversity of thought.
‘The inspiration was the old scripts about anatomy of the late XVII, XIX centuries. Of course, they have a school of ancient Greeks besides being philosophers, some of them were involved in anatomy studies and sculptural work, which was translated to the later work of scientists and artists trying to capture the power almost mythological in every muscle of the human body, creating a powerful narrative.’
— Cassar
Which questions were you approaching with this work?
Isaiah: Do physiological changes as well as social influences contribute to the development of sex roles and gender identities?
CASSAR: What happens after the dissolution of the archetype? Does it affect our mental foundations in any way?
The male body, in Abel, takes us back to the classical ancient Greek and Roman marble statues. The representation of males was through a perspective of heroic narrative, idealized and, in a sense, realistic at the same time. How did you achieve this from the visual and technical side as work with mixed media in this project?
CASSAR: The inspiration was the old scripts about anatomy of the late XVII, XIX centuries. Of course, they have a school of ancient Greeks besides being philosophers, some of them were involved in anatomy studies and sculptural work, which was translated to the later work of scientists and artists trying to capture the power almost mythological in every muscle of the human body, creating a powerful narrative. To achieve it from the technical and visual side, we had to choose the right materials, type of printing, colors, as each photo has its own essence, being congruent with the psychological theories, but at the same time maintaining a contemporary feeling.
Describe Abel, his emotional state, his thoughts, and his actions.
Isaiah: Abel was very excited about this project and is very much in touch with his sexual identity and gender role. He was very comfortable with his body and loved the inspiration behind this project.
Which moment from this project is most precious to you?
Isaiah: The comfortableness that Abel embodied was very inspiring. Also, the conversations that we had about the male psyche, hearing his take, and perspectives about the concept were all very memorable yet strong moments for me.
CASSAR: Every moment was memorable from casting to post-production, the confidence that Abel showed during the photoshoot, and how we put the pieces together to make this project cohesive and strong.
