Curatorial Projects
In pursuit of the perfect pose
Gallery 44 centre for contemporary photography
Oct 2017
In Pursuit of the Perfect Pose explores internalized performative manifestations of femininity and cultural alterity imposed through social structures and societal expectations of marginalized women. Drawing loosely on ideas of Otherness as experienced by racialized minorities, this exhibition highlights the intersections of barriers faced by women of colour, and the ways in which they challenge the constructed performance of their identities. Participating artists Dalia Amara, Rah, Rajni Perera, Shellie Zhang and Tau Lewis use image-based works and installation to reflect on the signifiers and foundations of cultural and gender performance in Western society. Each project takes a unique approach to question and reform enforced binary narratives that pose limits on a fluid disposition of self. With a platform for these female artists of colour to take up space, subvert the colonial gaze and navigate through notions of otherness and performance in their work, the exhibition acts as a collective appeal to engage in further discourse on the barriers such mandated performance creates.
