SECRETS
AND LIES
Arthur Renwick and Susan Dobson
March 26 - May 15, 2011
Many of us loathe being photographed. When a camera is pointing at
us we experience a moment of extreme self-awareness and express our
resistance by covering our faces, sticking out our tongues, grimacing
or closing our eyes.
At the same time there are cultural myths and truisms surrounding
photography. We’ve heard that the image captures or steals the soul, or that “the
camera never lies.”
Seeking to address some of these ideas, the exhibition Secrets
and Lies features thought-provoking and conceptually intriguing photo-based
portraits by two renowned Canadian artists: Arthur Renwick’s
ongoing series Mask which he began in 2006 and Susan Dobson’s
series Rememory dated 2008.
 Arthur Renwick’s larger-than-life portraits from his Mask series
feature First Nations artists, writers and intellectuals who have had
to deal with prevailing stereotypes about their heritage throughout
their careers. Gazing into Renwick’s camera they strike poses
using facial gestures to express their feelings and thoughts about
the history of the lens and its relationship to the stereotypical “Indian.” Looking
back at how their indigenous identity has been framed and imprisoned
by images and cultural assumptions, they give back to the camera what
they received: distorted, masquerading, mocking versions of themselves.
In mainstream photography the main reason for striking a pose in
front of a camera is to be captured looking good. Renwick’s images
subvert the notion of being photogenic and fitting in. His strategy
to overload indigenous stereotypes to the point of absurdity conveys
a strong message: “If we aren’t who you think we are, then
who are you.” (Richard William Hill)
 For her Rememory project, Dobson asked friends, family members, acquaintances
and students to participate in a photo shoot that involved sitting
in a completely darkened room with their eyes shut, looking inside
themselves and recalling a past event of personal significance. Nothing
but the flash of the camera illuminated their faces for a split second
at a time. Dobson’s studio setting comes close to being a short-term
sensory deprivation session which is generally described as relaxing
and conducive to meditation. These states of being are mirrored in
the faces of the subjects as they are captured by the camera: snapshots
of an altered state of consciousness. There is a sculptural quality
to the transfixed faces, one might even say that they resemble death
masks. What the camera did not capture is the range of feelings that
emerge from recalling past events. The individuals’ state of
mind remains invisible and therefore a secret. Dobson intentionally
never asked them to reveal it.
Visually the two bodies of work represented in this show are in stark
contrast to each other: Arthur Renwick’s protagonists stare at
you with grimacing and mocking faces, Dobson’s subjects are captured
in a state of contemplative withdrawal and don’t look at you
at all. Each artist has a distinctive voice yet they share a few common
strategies. Both contextualize the past with the present; both involve
their subjects in a performance enacted in front of a camera; both
go against traditional portraiture and transform their subjects; both
share an interest in the human condition.
You, the viewers, are invited to weave the prologue and epilogue
of the complex narratives Dobson and Renwick have written with their
cameras.
Arthur Renwick is increasingly acknowledged internationally as a First
Nations artist. He was born on a Haisla reserve in Kitimat, British
Columbia and received his Master of Fine Arts in Photography at Concordia
University in Montreal. The National Gallery of Canada purchased his
first Mask Series in 2008. Renwick currently lives in Toronto and is
presented by the Leo Kamen Gallery.
Susan Dobson was born in Moncton, New Brunswick and received her
Master of Fine Arts from the University in Guelph where she currently
lives. Her work has been widely exhibited internationally. In 2008
the McDonald Stewart Art Gallery purchased selected works from Rememory
for their permanent collection.
Both Renwick and Dobson teach in the School of Fine Art and Music
at the University of Guelph and are past recipients of the K.M. Hunter
Artists Award.
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