Deborah Bakos: Take It Like A Woman

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Byron Dauncey

Deborah Bakos, "Medusa's Mirror," 2021

paint and textiles on Archival Photograph, 30" x 30"

Lipont Gallery presents Take It Like Woman by Vancouver artist Deborah Bakos.

This solo exhibition of mixed media paintings and found object installations offers viewers a sense of shared history and an opportunity to explore the construction of gender.

Featuring a survey of vintage and contemporary photographs embellished with paint, embroidery, lace and gems, the artist's work is femininity reimagined with a hint of irony.

The main characters in Deborah's altered narratives provide a personal view of womanhood; a child in red heels sporting a lit tattoo, a bride holding a beating heart bouquet, a faceless paper-doll groom and Medusa in her mirror applying lipstick all speak to intimacy and the female gaze directed inward.

Accompanying the collection of altered photographs is a selection paintings referencing female focused idioms and Greek origin myths. These pieces are large and bold in their allusions to literature. Persephone, Pandora, Atalanta and the Oracle are presented as abstractions of myth information. The exhibition also includes found furniture embroidered with text and re-purposed with paint and textile notions.

All of Deborah’s visual commentaries are aimed at challenging traditional definitions and harmful tropes about women.