BRITISH SUBJECTS:
IDENTITY & SELF-FASHIONING
1967-2009
When Tracey Emin, who represented Britain at the 2007 Venice Biennale, was asked by a Timeout interviewer whether she feels British, she replied, "I am British. My passport's British, I was born in London. My dad's Turkish-Cypriot, my mum's from the East End....I'm definitively multicultural British."
Elsewhere, on her web site, Emin describes her idiosyncratically polymorphous work as "autobiographical art." Taken together, Emin's remarks point to changes, over the past 40 years, both in what it means to be British and in conceptions of selfhood and self-portraiture.
These changes are addressed in British Subjects, which will present a selection of works by artists who, like Emin, draw on and depart from the conventions of self-portraiture, delineate new possibilities of self-fashioning and self-representation, and visualize new notions of Britishness, identity, and subjectivity.
Some content may not be suitable for younger audiences. Adults are encouraged to preview the exhibition before touring with children.
Curated by Louise Yelin, Purchase College Professor of Literature, British Subjects is on view September 13-December 13, 2009.
What kind of SUBJECT are you?
Tell us what kind of
subject you are. Fill in the blank, snap a self-portrait, and we'll post it on
Facebook and in a slide show in the Museum. We supply the maps and camera; you supply the identity.
