Discursive Selves

Farah Al Qasimi Aneta Bartos Nicolas Bloise Elliott Jerome Brown Jr. Nona Faustine Rindon Johnson Tommy Kha Pixy Liao Matthew Morrocco Bryson Rand Paul Mpagi Sepuya

Curated by Eric Lawton & Daphne Takahashi

Housed at Westbeth Gallery, Discursive Selves explores the contested meaning of the Self Portrait. This collection of photography and film by eleven contemporary artists reveals nuanced definitions of selfhood that acknowledge the influence of one’s social environment on one’s inner sense of identity. These artists use the camera to navigate between both fluid and fixed perceptions of the Self, and are thus able to present who they are on their own terms.

The Self Portrait plays an essential role in the development and establishment of one’s identity— it informs and is informed, creates and is created, is both concrete and ephemeral. For some, it manifests as an artifact, a material body, or a form of testimony; for others, it is a projection, a speculation, or a performance. Working in a new genre of critical photography, these artists play with the paradox of “public intimacy" to explore the relationship between private life and public persona. Portrayals of the Self range from fictitious characters and imagined scenarios to biological self-studies or familial ties.

Discursive Selves dissects the myriad practices of formulating oneself as both an intimate ritual and a method of responding to one's outer world. In a rapidly expanding global information society, this exhibition invites a moment of pause for contemplation in contemporary life.

This exhibition is made possible through the support of Art + Commerce.