From February 15 to April 3, 2022, I had the opportunity to collaborate with the Carleton University Art Gallery in Ottawa by contributing to the label writing for the exhibition Steve Giasson as Others / Steve Giasson comme les autres. This project allowed me to explore the reinterpretation of images and identities through the lens of conceptual art.
Image : Carleton University Art Gallery’s website
An Exhibition on Identity and Reinterpretation
The exhibition Steve Giasson as Others / Steve Giasson comme les autres was a reflection on appropriation and the transformation of self-image through the work of artist Steve Giasson. Rooted in the tradition of the tableau vivant, Giasson staged himself by recreating photographic self-portraits inspired by major artists. Playing with the codes of representation, he explored the notions of identity, authenticity, and artistic mise en abyme.
My Role in This Project
My contribution to this exhibition consisted in writing the labels accompanying the artworks. This task required an approach that was both analytical and poetic in order to contextualize the references while leaving room for viewer interpretation. The challenge was to guide the reading of the works without ever fixing their meaning, highlighting the citations, humor, and subversion characteristic of Steve Giasson’s practice.
The texts had to reflect the conceptual spirit of the exhibition while remaining accessible to a wide audience. This experience was a great opportunity to refine my approach to curatorial writing and to contribute to the mediation of a unique artistic project.
A Project That Questions Our Relationship to the Image
This work allowed me to delve deeper into questions of identity and representation that run through my own path as a researcher and exhibition curator. By emphasizing the mirror effects and references in Giasson’s work, I was able to deepen my reflection on how art interacts with our perception of the real and the fictional.
This collaboration with the Carleton University Art Gallery was an enriching experience that strengthened my interest in the relationship between text and image in contemporary art exhibitions.