Suzy Lake’s approach to art making over the past 40 years has been both rigorous and
challenging. A pioneer of body-based work, Lake examines, both politically
and aesthetically, the experience of gendered embodiment. In
the 1970s Lake began using her own body and life as the subject of her work.
From series such as On Stage (1972-75), Choreographed Puppets (1976) and Impositions (1977) through to Peonies and the Lido (2002) and Extended Breathing (2008-present)
she has photographed herself in staged situations often using costumes,
props and actions to examine models of femininity. In so doing, she broke
ground for other artists including Cindy Sherman. Lake’s photo-based and performative explorations of the body,
femininity, and beauty offer a
powerful and nuanced investigation into the experience and expression of
female identities within the context of contemporary political, social and
media environments. Lake’s practice of performing for her own camera results in a complex body of work that politically and aesthetically
engages with herself as both the subject and the object of vision.
Through her image doubles, Lake opened up the fraught relations between
image and identity that have become a central concern of contemporary art practices. Suzy Lake: Political Poetics has been organized by the University of Toronto Art Centre and the Scotiabank Contact Photography
Festival. The accompanying catalogue, produced with the generous support of Partners in Art, includes essays by curators Carla Garnet and Matt Brower and cultural theorist Dot Tuer. It is available at McIntosh Gallery for $30. Suzy Lake: Political Poetics
January 5th to February 18th, 2012
Curated by Matthew Brower and Carla Garnet
Opening reception January 19th at 7:30 P.M.
Suzy Lake, Extended Breathing: Under Porchlight, Performance/ photography, 2009. Courtesy of Paul Petro Contemporary Art.
Gallery information
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