Lori Newdick, Jane Corkin Gallery, Toronto - Heroine

Lori Newdick: Heroine
Jane Corkin Gallery, Toronto
July 8 - September 11, 1999

Lori Newdick (b. 1968) exhibits her latest body of work Heroine at Jane Corkin Gallery, her first commercial gallery exhibition. Currently enrolled in the MFA program at Guelph, Lori Newdick won the 1999 Ontario College of Art and Design Medal for Excellence in Photography.

Taking her cue from the French feminist Hélène Cixous, who wrote "Woman must write herself", Lori Newdick explores issues of personal identity. Heroine is a social commentary on preconceived notions about lesbians and others who don't fit in the mainstream.

The 30" x 40" pieces in Heroine are each comprised of three panels. The left panels are book covers from 1950s pulp fiction, with titles like Queer Affair and We Walk through Lesbos' Groves. These book covers are reminders of past attitudes towards lesbians. On the right panels are black and white self-portraits providing a visual counterbalance for the richly-coloured book covers. The central panels use a necktie as icon.

The sum of the parts, however, carries greater significance. The tripartite construction explores the construction of identities. Although Lori Newdick states that Hollywood has made gay culture and visible minorities appear palatable for the mainstream, she suggests that attitudes toward lesbians have not changed much during the last 50 years. Exposing herself to the lens both strips Lori Newdick of her anonymity and puts forth an image of a female for which there are few examples. Lori Newdick wonders where that leaves her, as a lesbian, as a woman: what is expected and what is acceptable. What propels the work is the desire to define oneself. Heroine uncovers the obstacles to that expression and leaves the question of "How?" unanswered, for each viewer to consider.

JANE CORKIN GALLERY
179 John Street, Toronto, ON, M5T 1X4
www.janecorkin.com