Using masks as both props and metaphors, Gillian Wearing's photographs, videos, and installations explore the performance of identity, an act that we all participate in on a quotidian basis as a means to various ends. As RuPaul famously stated, "We're all born naked, and the rest is drag." Some of us adopt specific affects, mannerisms, or styles of dress to authentically signal to the outside world how we feel within. For others, assimilation is a vital act of self-preservation. Often the identities we present will shift to accommodate the social or physical spaces that we occupy. More nefariously, as with the infamous Anna Delvey, and "Tinder Swindler" Simon Leviev, the performance can be a manipulative con, "faking it until you make it." In our present landscape saturated by social media, everyone has the opportunity to present themselves as a finely curated brand. On the occasion of the exhibition Gillian Wearing: Wearing Masks, the Guggenheim will gather a virtual panel of artists to discuss how they each explore the central theme of identity performance within their creative practices. Jennifer Blessing, Senior Curator, Photography, will provide an introductory presentation contextualizing the conversation within Wearing's practice. The panelists will include Farah Al Qasimi, Malik Gaines, and Colette Lumiere. The program is organized and moderated by Dr. Ksenia M. Soboleva, Andrew W. Mellon Gender and LGBTQ+ History Fellow at the Center for Women's History, New-York Historical Society Museum and Library.
New York City, NY; NYC