IN THIS REALM
Five Artists Explore Identity and Transformation
Cobi Moules, Untitled (Fallen tree near LaVerkin Creek 2), oil on canvas, 21" x 28", 2012
On view from October 6–21, 2016
Exhibition Opening: Thursday, October 6, 2016, 5:00–8:00pm
First Friday Art Walk: Friday, October 7, 2016, 5:00-8:00pm
Institute of Contemporary Art at Maine College of Art & Design
ICA Gallery hours: Wed–Sun,11:00am–5:00pm, Thurs, 11:00am–7:00pm, Friday, 11:00am–5:00pm, (FFAW until 8:00pm)
Traversing the language of the art historical, psychoanalytic, poetic and philosophic this exhibition presents 5 views of becoming in today's culture. This group invites us to delve deeper into ideas of gender, identity and cultural paradigms to consider the individual as well as the archetype and to question for ourselves ideas of identity. Artists include Allyson Mitchell, Patricia Brace '06, Jung Hur, Cobi Moules and Veronica Cross. Curated by Michel Droge MFA '10.
Photography by Kyle Dubay '17.
Curatorial Statement
Traversing the language of the art historical, psychoanalytic, poetic and philosophic this exhibition presents five artists’ perspectives on becoming in today's culture. This group invites us to delve deeper into ideas of gender, identity and cultural paradigms to consider the individual as well as the archetype and to question ideas of identity and transformation.
Cobi Moules iconic landscapes, populated with his own image multiplied in states of play and exploration, invite us to consider ideas of gender identity, integration, self worth, community making and our sublime relationship with the divine in nature and in ourselves. His Tumbler series reminds of us of a need for playful exploration in this culture of magnified self-awareness in a digital world and considers the pitfalls of over assimilation and loss of identity in the process of self-assertion.
Veronica Cross’s video Passenger explores gender and identity through the detritus of an abandoned car graveyard. Situating the car in her work as a symbol for “girl” Cross examines the feminist lexicon in our culture. Her focus on the car door suggests a portal as well as a symbol of an ‘objectified, fetishized and thus disembodied state’ becoming a ‘pathway to catharsis and empowerment.’
Patricia Brace’s piece Mirror Stage, invokes the writings of Lacan to explore ideas of otherness and desire. Referencing Lacan’s concept of the same name, Brace explores identity as a construction of subjectivity, self awareness through otherness, and body image. Through her performative piece, Brace plays with this psychology of individual transformation and development of a sense of place and connection.
Allyson Mitchell pokes fun at the stereotypes surrounding Lesbian Feminist theory and asks us to rethink and expand our understanding of gender identity and Feminist ideology in a contemporary and individualized world. In the video Killjoys Kastle: a Lesbian Feminist Haunted House Mitchell asks us to reconsider and embrace the evolution of feminist thought with a queer lens.
Jung Hur’s large and imposing paintings present us with ideas of perspective by way of transformation and illusion. His work articulates the ever-changing relationship between objects and their proximity to the self. Through the combination of his archetypal keyhole and animal imagery, Jung explores ideas of a somatic transformation as well as psychological transubstantiation.