Category: Introducing — Published:
Central to the ISelf Collection is identity, with particular reference to the human condition. Through painting, sculpture and vintage photography the themes of birth, death, sexuality, love, pain and joy are all rigorously explored.
Many of the works examine the existential dilemma that is inherent to the human nature. Figuration plays a major part, and a majority of the artists represented are women. ISelf Collection was established in 2009 by Maria and Malek Sukkar, and the collection is curated and managed by Anderson O’Day Fine Art.
Discover four key works from the exhibition below:
Pawel Althamer, Self-Portrait as the Billy-Goat, 2011, Glazed ceramic, plastic, metal, resin cast, goat fur, used shoe, painted Styrofoam plinth, 152 x 152 x 154 cm, Courtesy the artist and Foksal Gallery Foundation, Warsaw, Photo: Bartosz Stawiarski
The exhibition title is taken from Pawel Althamer’s (b. 1967, Poland) flayed and melancholic self-portrait in the guise of Auguste Rodin’s famous The Thinker (1903), with an additional twist in that he represents himself as a Billy Goat.
André Breton, Photomaton, André Breton, C 1929, Unique Photomaton, silver gelatin print, 5.1 x 3.8 cm, ©ADAGP, Paris and DACS, London 2017
A series of photo strips by André Breton (1896-1966, France) and his Surrealist colleagues open the first chapter in a series of displays. Taken in 1929, they experimented with a new form of instantaneous self-portraiture, the photobooth. Rather than choosing a straightforward pose, they look sideways or away from the camera, playing with different poses – smoking, thinking or laughing, depicting themselves as complex and multi-faceted individuals.
Louise Bourgeois, Untitled, 1947-49, Bronze painted white and blue, stainless steel, 173.4 x 30.5 x 30.5 cm, ©The Easton Foundation/VAGA, New York/ DACS, London 2017
Tracing the psychology of the artist and the role of mother, daughter, wife and lover was at the forefront of Louise Bourgeois’ (1911 – 2010, France) work.
Cindy Sherman, Untitled, No. 507, 1977/2011, Black and white photograph, 22.2 x 17.5 cm, Courtesy the artist, Metro Pictures and Sprüth Magers
By staging their own portraits the artists in this display examine the mechanisms that we use to present ourselves to the world. In her Untitled (1977/2010) photographs, Cindy Sherman (b.1954, USA) stages her appearance through a curtain call where she poses as four different actors.
The exhibition also includes work by: Enrico David, Tracey Emin, Gilbert & George, Gabriel Kuri, Yayoi Kusama, Linder, Aditya Mandayam, Raqs Media Collective, and Prem Sahib .
Visit Iself Collection: Self-Portrait as the Billy Goat the Whitechapel Gallery, Gallery 7 from 27 April – 20 August 2017.
