“The Life & Death Of Elle Peril” is a five-year experiment on trauma and persona. In 2008, an ex-boyfriend posted nude photos of me on the Internet. Shortly thereafter, an anonymous Internet stalker began harassing me, my family, friends, and associates using tactics such as “Google-bombing” and doxxing. I suffered from post-traumatic stress symptoms (depression, anxiety, paranoia, and hypervigilance) which impaired my ability to function socially and professionally. As one of the earliest documented cases of revenge porn and cyberstalking, my experience has been studied by academic researchers and covered in the press.

In 2013, I moved to Berlin and invented an alternate identity as nude model Elle Peril. Through ritualized acts of undressing and posing for (mostly male) strangers, Elle Peril functioned as a coping mechanism, survival tactic, and ad hoc therapy that allowed me to reclaim agency over my body and personal narrative.

Selected Press

VICE: After Years of Online Abuse, Sex Blogger Lena Chen Reclaims Her Identity
i-ref: Lena vs. Elle: Das Leben mit zwei Identitäten
Rue89: Harcelée en ligne, Lena Chen revient en posant nue
Sex Out Loud with Tristan Taormino: Lena Chen on Identity, Sexuality, Trauma, and Revenge Porn

Exhibition

In May 2017, I presented the work in a solo show at S0MA Gallery in Berlin. The exhibition and performances were part of the ‘Yellow Matters’ series curated by Nabi Nara and supported by Berlin’s Senate Department for Culture and Europe Berlin (Senatsverwaltung für Kultur und Europa Berlin).

The exhibition included a video interview on online harassment, documentation of life as Elle, a public reading of my diaries, a figure drawing class, eulogies and testimonials from friends of “Elle”, and a panel discussion on the experiences of women artists who have worked as models.

Modeling as “Elle Peril”