Exhibition curated by Mona Filip, with works by 2Fik, Helio Eudoro, Julius Poncelet Manapul, Meryl McMaster, Sasha Shevchenko, Adrian Stimson, Stacey Tyrell, Laakkuluk Williamson Bathory, and Jamie Griffiths.
To a certain extent, every self is performative—a cast of characters we can summon or mould to serve our needs as we face the world. We each contain potential multitudes that can express or withhold different sides of ourselves, adapt to specific contexts, determine or respond to a boundless range of human interactions. Both individual and collective identities are formed by inner drives and outside pressures, relationships and constraints, nurture and oppression, dreams and fears.
Navigating the complexities of selfhood, agency, and representation, THE COUNTER/SELF brings together a group of artists who create and embody imaginative alter egos to examine, perform and subvert identity constructs and politics. Through the use of make-up and elaborate costumes, 2Fik, Helio Eudoro, Julius Poncelet Manapul, Meryl McMaster, Sasha Shevchenko, Adrian Stimson, Stacey Tyrell, Laakkuluk Williamson Bathory and Jamie Griffiths transform their own appearance and stage layered photographic, video, mixed media, and sculptural scenes that destabilize viewers’ presumed realities and points of reference to expose prejudices with regards to gender, race, ethnicity, and nationhood.
Shaped by personal and communal histories entwined within the artists’ life experiences, their counter/selves bring forward irreverent perspectives that disrupt enshrined national narratives, cultural legacies and social expectations. Sometimes flamboyant, sometimes enigmatic, these characters reveal the fallacies of dominant discourses and counteract their harmful sways. Probing power structures, asserting belonging, or obscuring presence, the counter/selves are invoked to reclaim space or to protect the vulnerable. In all their incarnations, they epitomize resilience, resistance and renewal.
Free Admission
Phone: 4169781838
Email: artmuseum@utoronto.ca
2023/01/11 - 2023/04/15
Additional time info:
Hours:
Tuesday to Saturday: 12 noon - 5 pm
Wednesdays: 12 noon - 8 pm
Sunday and Monday: closed
Art Museum at the University of Toronto – Justina M. Barnicke Gallery
7 Hart House Circle, Toronto, ON M5S 3H3
Metered parking is available along Hoskin Avenue, King’s College Circle, Tower Road, Hart House Circle. Please visit the U of T Parking information site for up-to-date pricing and rates.