| Opening reception: Friday, April
2, 6 - 10 pm
Artist's lecture/Q&A: Saturday, April 3, 1 - 3 pm
The Midwives Collective & Gallery is proud to present Bedazzzzled,
selections from Helen Maurene Cooper's two latest series of photographs,
"Hoodwink" and "Hard Candy."
"Hoodwink" is a series of photographs that juxtapose
the self-conscious language of portraiture with absurd color abstractions.
The current compilation follows a common theme in my work linking
portraits with detail, to explore further the complexities of
costume, performance, and identity."
"Hard Candy" is the fruit of this multi-focal investigation.
It is a series of large-scale macro photographs that illustrate
the details and designs of acrylic hand-painted nails in mountains
of complicated confections, piles of glitter, or well-organized
girlhood clutter. These images capture a spectrum of skin tones
from light to dark, enriching and registering the visual diversity
and complexity of racial identities. Because acrylic nails are
synthetic add-ons to one’s natural body, they mark the ways
in which bodies are racialized and render visible the constructed
and performative qualities of racial identities. As an image-maker,
I continually look for ways to scramble preexisting relationships
and to create new ones. My work studies how images shape and are
shaped by politics, female identity, and race." |
