Pierre Dalpé

The works exhibited in the York Corridor Vitrines are a selection of images from two bodies of work: Clothes Minded (1990 - 1996) and Personae (1997 - ongoing). Clothes Minded is a series of environmental portraits—comprised primarily of diptychs—which I began producing in 1990 while studying photography at Concordia University. The impetus for this body of work was my interest in gender-play, stereotypes, and queer theory by writers such as Judith Butler, Marjorie Garber, and Esther Newton. This series, which featured my subjects in various stages of drag, explored the gender binaries of masculinity and femininity, while also shedding light on the ambiguous grey zones in between. At its core was the premise that we are all in various forms of ‘drag’ in everyday life since everything we wear is, in essence, a socially constructed costume.

My Personae series grew from the ideas explored in Clothes Minded but is formally quite different. While still exploring notions of gender, the Personae work looks at the broader spectrum of identity, positing the idea that we, as individuals, potentially embody a multitude of personae—that identity is fluid and malleable and not predetermined. This series involves a collaborative process where I allow my subjects to exorcise their alter egos by performing an invented scenario or narrative within the proscenium arch of my camera frame. My intention with this work is to play with the aesthetics and traditions of documentary photography, as well as aspects of identity and performance. Through this subversion viewers are duped into believing false truths, leaving them to question everything contained within the frame.

Both the Clothes Minded and Personae series will be featured in a monograph, to be launched at FOFA Gallery on September 22^nd.