Unfiltered
June 25 – July 11, 2009
Artist Reception: June 25, 6 – 8 pm
My series UNFILTERED deals with the unexpressed fantasies or yearnings of women of all ages.
I believe also that these fantasies live at the edge of our consciousness and are clearly informed by our cultural experiences. It has become very clear to me in the process of developing this series that many women carry a secret, an aspect of their persona they have always yearned to express, but simply didn’t have the courage or opportunity to do so. In a way, the story or yearnings that stay tucked into our being long after we realize that “the prince is not going to come”!!!
The constructed fantasy or vision rendered as photographic realty is only part of the UNFILTERED experience. Another aspect is that of a metaphoric “tearing up” of a culturally collective contract about the way women are generally viewed. Like the permission we give one another as children when we lose ourselves in imaginary play. Through this invitation into an imagined realm we reconnect with the playful, the whimsical, the outrageous.
In using a diptych format I show how my subjects in a studio portrait present themselves to society (wife, mother, student, service provider, writer, artist, etc). I then photograph them in a constructed environment, one that reflects and reveals their hidden fantasy. What I have been struck by in these photo shoots was the richness and daring in women’s fantasy lives, a sexuality unseen, a desire for power or simply naked aggression. It comes as a shock in contrast to the outside world images of the subject’s public face. I do not believe many people have entered the UNFILTERED world of women’s fantasies. Certainly contemporary photographers such as Cindy Sherman have created alternate environments and personas but in contrast I feel the utter sincerity of the participants makes this series important from a psychological, cultural (i.e. how female roles and imaginings are shaped by society) and, of course, the artistic point of view.
I have asked the women who participated in this series to write their own statement describing the where or why of their fantasy, which gives a touching and revealing look into the UNFILTERED other story of these women’s fantasy life. I feel in this series I have been able to create a safe place, which has allowed the freedom for each woman’s long kept secrets – perhaps even kept from their conscious – to finally emerge.
Grace Gordon-Collins, June 2009
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 The Wrestler, c-print |
