From the Picker Art Gallery in New York, if you happen to find yourself in that neck of the woods before July 25th:

“Linn Underhill: Of Someone and Something is the first retrospective of the artist’s work and brings together portraits, self-portraits, object photography, and artist books created since the early 1990s. In her studio, Underhill takes stock of her life experiences by photographing objects she coveted as a child. Or she dresses up in drag, either emulating role models or mocking gender stereotypes. Underhill sometimes points the camera at her body to observe how it is ageing and anticipates its dissolution. Starting with a personal quest connected to the artist’s body, memory, or identity, the images quickly become communal.”

I have a resounding respect for people who challenge roles bestowed upon them by society, especially when it comes to sexuality and gender. I adore drag, not just as a giggle over chaps in frocks and ladies in comfortable shoes, but as a form of satire against how we’re expected to be and what we’re expected to look like. This is something that Linn Underhill does brilliantly.

From the blog, CNY Life: “…Gender identity, ageing, social and gender stereotypes all find a voice in Underhill’s images, which range from the ridiculous (I mean this in the warmest sense of the word) to the sublime… Some of the most arresting work in the show comprises an over-the-top set of large-format colour photographs titled “The Cosmic Dominatrix,” series dating from 2000-01. In these boldly amusing and colourful photos, Underhill riffs on the stereotypical roles bestowed upon men over time and threatens their permanence by replacing their images with hers. Willem DeKooning and Michelangelo are fair game in Underhill’s tart commentary…”