In View at the Golden Thread Gallery in Belfast explores the act of looking and challenges the roles of the viewer/viewed. Understandably, within the context of the (male) gaze in art history, many of the works on show look at the erotic, voyeuristic, possessive and sometimes exploitative nature of looking, especially upon female subjects. However, some artists looked at the idea of the "other," at narratives of personal experience, and of representing events which by their nature are time-based and temporary. There were quite a few video works, which are obviously hard to represent on a blog, so I'm just showing the wall-based works of two artists I liked.
Sara Greavu's works explore the Halloween carnival culture of Derry, here looking at ideas of the "other" and ethnic drag.
Margaret Harrison's drawings explore the nature of celebrity and pop culture and the human body as an object for consumption. They're all quite witty and irreverent, which I rather like.
2 Princesses, 2 Hands (Diego Velazquez painting/David Walliams & Batman)
Olympia: Model Role (Jennifer Lopez/Marlene Dietrich 'Frenchie')
Dolly Parton Mel Ramos
All in all, I was pleased with the exhibition, doubly so since it took me two tries (and two trips to Belfast!) to see it.
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