ABOUT
SUSANNE JUNKER, in front of her oeuvre “The Perfect Woman is a Lie 1” at the H1 - Center for Contemporary Art at the Glaspalast, Augsburg, Germany.
Photo: Dirk Hund
Susanne:
“It all started with the Miss Vogue Germany modelling contest in 1989, where I came in third place at the age of 16. It immediately catapulted me to Paris and into the international modeling world, and I worked as a model for 10 years.
The 1990s were the era of glamorous supermodels selling their perfect physical appearance. Beauty standards were mostly set by male photographers — the shooting of female bodies and the male gaze remained dominant in society. After working in the industry for several years, those rigid norms became unbearable to me. By 1995 they compelled me to shift from object to author. I captured my unadorned self, using an analogue camera with roll film, adopting different personas, expressing authenticity — anger, boredom, and wittiness — through my self-created images. This conscious decision opened a long path to my self-appropriation”.
German-born photographer and artist Susanne Junker has practiced self-observation since teenage years and used her meiotic exposure to break down the preconceived notions of her then-job as a model in the 1990s, and her own struggle with what she describes as "24/7 perfectionism".
Her work explores the concept of identity in a visually driven world: a keen observer of pop culture and social media, she has long questioned the representation of women in the media. In her practice, her own face and body often become a tool to confront beauty standards, gender role stereotypes and ageism through self-appropriation and a feminist perspective.
From 2008 to 2013, Susanne Junker founded and directed stage候台BACK, an artist-run space for experimental projects in Shanghai, China. From 2018 - 2022, Susanne taught as a guest lecturer a photography course titled: "Researching Identity" at the China Academy of Art (CAA) in Shanghai and Hangzhou, China.
Susanne Junker lives and works in Paris, France.
SOLO EXHIBITIONS:
2025 PODADA, portes ouvertes, Boucle Nord de Seine, Argenteuil, France.
2025 SO WHAT!, H1 - Zentrum für Gegenwartskunst, Museen Augsburg, Germany.
2020 Inside you, outside me, (online exhibition), La Termica Art Center, Malaga, Spain.
2019 Researching Identity, Laufer Art gallery (Belgrade Photo Month), Belgrade, Serbia.
2018 Researching Identity, ID-Identity workshop, La Termica, cultural center, Málaga, Spain.
2015 The artist is not present, Art is present, WuZoren Art Foundation, Beijing, China.
2013 ID-Identity, Brownstone Foundation, Paris, France
2010 Vomiting world, Teapot Gallery, Cologne, Germany
2006 stageBACK, Galerie Acte2 Photo, Paris, France
1999 Supermodels?, Les Frigos, Paris, France
GROUP EXHIBITIONS:
2024 Photo Fairs Shanghai, WhyWhy Art, Shanghai, China.
2023 Photo Fairs Shanghai, WhyWhy Art, Shanghai, China.
2022 La belle Étoile expose, EST galerie, Paris, France.
2021 En Corps Elles, Bibliothèque municipale de Lyon, France.
2021 ActOnition, WhyWhyArt, Goethe Institute, Shanghai, China.
2021 La belle Étoile expose, EST galerie, Paris, France.
2017 To be like water, WhyWhyArt, Suzhou, China.
2017 Conversation about comparative feminism, WhyWhyArt, Nanjing, China.
2016 ID-Identity, Montvalent Art Festival, Montvalent, France.
2015 Community hospital, WhyWhy Art, Shanghai, China,
2015 Playing with beauty, RedLine Art Center, Denver, USA,
2014 Mauvais Genre, Addict gallery, Paris, France.
2013 Secret 7, artist collective, YY’s, Shanghai, China.
2012 Body noise, Museum of Textile and Costume, Shanghai, China.
2011 Féminité 0.1, Maison Particilaire, Brussels, Belgium.
2009 tête-à-tête, Galerie Acte2 Photo, Paris, France
PERFORMANCE, RESIDENT ARTIST, TEACHING, TALKS:
2025 ID-Identity, make-up performance, H1 - Zentrum für Gegenwartskunst, Museen Augsburg, Augsburg, Germany.
2024 NUDES, talk, Künstlervereinigung Augsburg “die Ecke e.V”, H1 - Zentrum für Gegenwartskunst, Museen Augsburg, Germany.
2022 Play-shop - ME-ART-ME 02, International lecturer, China Academy of Art, Hangzhou, China.
2021 Play-shop - ME-ART-ME 01, International lecturer, China Academy of Art, Hangzhou, China.
2018 I am not an Artist! I am Susanne Junker, Artist!, talk, Carmen Thyssen Museum, Málaga, Spain.
2018 German Artist in Shanghai, finalist and resident artist, Goethe Institute Shanghai, China Academy of Art in Hangzhou, China.
2018 21st Century Woman, book signing and presentation, OFR, Paris, France.
2013 ID-Identity, resident artist, Brownstone Foundation, Paris, France.
2013 ID-Identity, make-up performance, Frauenmuseum Hittisau, Hittisau, Austria.
2013 ID-Identity, resident artist, 12C Schnifis, Raum für Kunst, Schnifis, Austria.
© SusanneJunker 2025