You might have seen them if you were traversing the downtowns of New York, Chicago, or Boston last year. Blown-up images, on some 300 bus shelters, of Greek goddesses, biblical figures and queens.
At once 17 legendary figures and one exemplary artist, each self-portrait crafted by multidisciplinary creative Martine Gutierrez saw a transformation of her body and face into recognizable female figures.
The images were scattered throughout the cities and, in the months afterwards, bunched together in groups of four or five for smaller shows in commercial galleries. Only now will all 17 be seen together at the same time, in the same room, as Anti-Icon Apokalypsis lands at The Polygon in North Vancouver.
American artist Gutierrez has scoured legends, histories, religions and myths to land upon her muses, only to recreate them herself for the camera with little more than household objects. Cleopatra, with Gutierrez donning a black garbage bag for a wig, sits alongside the Hindu deity Ardhanareeshwara, her eight arms imprinted onto a wall with paint. Elsewhere she contorts into Aphrodite, Queen Elizabeth I, Lady Godiva, Mulan.
Gutierrez, a non-binary transgender woman, reworks her appearance to fit the mould of such legends, and in doing so poses the question: what does it mean to be a woman?
Elliott Ramsey, The Polygon’s curator, said Gutierrez is doing something that feels both timely and overdue, by “presenting a vision of unabashed and unapologetic womanhood” with her body.
“It’s interesting to see how she transforms,” he said. “It’s not about presenting this one authoritative image of herself, she’s embracing the fact that she, as a woman of colour, as a trans woman, as an American, as someone who’s been categorized in so many ways, has a sense of self that is broad and vast and full of various references and influences.”
As Gutierrez transforms herself into various influential women from all historical periods and cultural moments, she also incites the viewer to consider who or what can become iconic.
“She’s thinking about how women have been looked at and appraised, judged and idolized,” said Ramsey.
“What Martine really wants us to do is think and be critical of and reflect on the kind of mindless acceptance of what has come before. The anti-icon doesn’t want to make us worship, the anti-icon makes us want to think and contemplate and question what we’ve taken for granted,” he said.
While the images should provoke thought and incite questions on femininity, power, iconography and worship, that’s not to say there isn’t room for fun with the exhibition. After all, it is centred around a woman playing dress-up as some of her heroes.
Ramsey said he’s been working with Gutierrez to lean into a “flair for the dramatic” when curating the exhibition space. A sort of camp sensibility can be found in the visual displays, like the large Gothic arches that mark the exhibition’s entrance.
“Things merge into ridiculousness and I’m excited to see which side of the line people walk on,” said Ramsey.
“I’m really excited to see which way people feel about it, because we are enjoying this kind of dichotomy of images that have been taken so seriously that they inherently become a bit camp.”
Fun and dramatic, it is no coincidence that the showcasing of Anti-Icon coincides with Pride celebrations in Vancouver. Much like other events, the exhibition is vibrant and eccentric in a way that people might take very seriously or may find teeters on the edge of silliness, and both responses, said Ramsey, are legitimate.
Anti-Icon: Apokalypsis
Where: The Polygon Gallery
When: On now until Sept. 29
Info: thepolygon.ca
Mina Kerr-Lazenby is the North Shore News’ Indigenous and civic affairs reporter. This reporting beat is made possible by the Local Journalism Initiative.
