When Nobody’s Watching
May 22 - July 10, 2021
In-person reception: June 26 | 3-5pm
“You are who you are when nobody’s watching.”
-Stephen Fry
“But who am I when they cut the lights and nobody’s watching me?”
-Macklemore
Paying homage to the time-honored tradition of self-portraiture, this collection of works shows a multiplicity of approaches to the genre – the images are sometimes confessional and profound, sometimes self-deprecating and humorous.
While most artists are no strangers to solitude and the inevitable self-reflection that solitude brings, there is a more practical consideration: artists often choose themselves as subject simply because they are the ones there. This past year has made even more pronounced the necessity of using what is within arm’s reach, in the same way that an artist’s available physical space can dictate scale. While these works were not all made during quarantine, they are seen now through the lens of prolonged separation, as little windows opening to other people.
Artists included: Faisal Abdu’Allah, John Bankston, Phoebe Beasley, Jonathan Calm, Gina Contreras, Tracey Emin, Rodney Ewing, Viola Frey, Rupert Garcia, Joseph Green, Doug Hall, Bovey Lee, David Linger*, Hung Liu, Chip Lord, Vik Muniz*, Tameka Jenean Norris Estate*, Sidney Russell, Ron Moultrie Saunders, Kathy Sloane, Lava Thomas, Tara Tucker, John Waters, Lewis Watts, + Derek Weisberg
[*online only]
