CEOs is a series of video portraits that concentrate on a relevant but controversial 'group' of people: the executives and chairmen of large corporations, global players and economic interest groups.
The idea is to shed light on and deconstruct a much discussed but still rather unknown 'territory': the central decision makers in a global world formed by economic interests and influence.

CEOs uses time based media and self-representation to define a new form of artistic portraiture in contrast to traditional static representation, media interviews and documentaries.
CEOs sets up a frame at the headquarters, a setting consisting of 2 cameras, in which the executives perform for 20 to 40min. The entire material is used without cutting the footage. 'Everything' is important even if 'nothing' happens. The participants create their own portrait showing conscious and unconscious actions and reactions, words and gestures. Constructing their presentation becomes an act of deconstruction in the process of self-representation. Adapting a phrase by Gerhard Roth¹, the portaits do not depict, they construct, namely their functional organisation as well as their function to produce behaviors in which the portayed create the ‘environment’ of the setting as well as the environment of their selves.

Leslie Sklair² speaks of a "transnational capitalist class" that has emerged and acts out an enormous influence on society. Far reaching decisions and developments not only concerning global economy but influencing social and even individual life are today developed and executed by leading representatives of large corporations with or without the help of politicians. Still, we are usually much more familiar with political representatives than with their counterparts behind companies, economic interest groups and lobbying agencies.

By entering and infusing itself into this 'realm', CEOs takes a closer look that is not deviated by marketing and PR strategies but focuses on some of these individuals that Sklair would possibly define as members of this newly developing transnational class.

Fernand Braudel³ writes that "every 'dense' society can be divided into different "units": "the area of the economical, of the political, the cultural and the hierarchic-societal." He states that "the economical can only be understood in the correlation with the other 'units,' into which it disperses itself and to which at the same time it opens its gates." The approach to portraying economic leaders realized in CEOs parallels Braudel's idea about the role of economy in society but is performed on an individual level with individual skills and competencies.

CEOs is also interested in an artistic hypothesis, which states that many executives in the 21st century are more and more trained and talented in different 'arts' related to acting, speech, composition, colouring, rhythm, form, etc. and use them in order to achieve their goals. This is put to a test in CEOs.

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(1) “My case is that fundamentally brains can not reproduce the world; they have to be constructive, namely both regarding their functional organisation as well as regarding their function, indeed to produce a behaviour that allows the organism to survive in its environment”, in: Gerhard Roth, Das Gehirn und seine Wirklichkeit, Kognitive Neurobiologie und ihre philosphischen Konsequenzen, Frankfurt am Main, 1996, p. 23
(2) Leslie Sklair, The Transnational Class, Blackwell Publishers 2001
(3) Fernand Braudel, Die Dynamik des Kapitalismus, Klett-Cotta 1997

Two video cameras present dual zones of "gestures:" one camera films a close-up of the face while the other shows the whole figure. Equivalent importance is placed on verbal and other actions.
No artificial lighting is used. Natural light with its changing qualities counters solid status. Sounds from the outside enter. The artificial quality of reality invades the picture.
We ask for informal attire.

The video-setting is subdivided into three different subjects. The CEOs perform each part without breaks or cuts. The flow of the story and the speech are not interrupted.

The first part deals with the personal socialisation of the participants. Our interest focuses on their childhood and youth, rather than their career. We ask the executives to tell us about how they see themselves, their background and upbringing.

The second part starts with an artistic performance by the participants. They should choose what art form and presentation they favour. Following the performance they are invited to discuss one (or more) artworks from any artistic field and explain why it has had a lasting impression on them.

In the third and final part, the CEOs' answer questions regarding their views on (and the resulting consequences of) economy and aesthetics.