Embodied

Four artists explore perceptions, functions and autonomy of the female body.

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Embodied, an exhibition at Winnipeg’s La Maison des artistes visuels francophones until Sept. 24, includes four artists who use self-portraiture to consider their relationship to their own bodies, blurring the line between private and public moments and examining the autonomy of the female body. While the portraits are often nude, they are not at all sexual. These images simply look at the body – how it functions, how it is perceived and how it heals. 

Winnipeg artist Yvette Cenerini’s photocollages feature cut up self-portraits joined back together again one body part at a time. While her body remains whole, it looks segmented and is capable of only certain controlled movements. As a person with a disability, Cenerini is dependent on others for help and cannot always control her movements. By putting herself on display, she tries to destigmatize paralysis and remind us of our responsibility to care for one another. 

Two of her works are interactive and allow visitors to move her body in certain ways. This can happen on a small scale with a framed image, and also on a larger scale with a modified trapeze stand that resembles a piece of medical equipment. This allows viewers to explore the power dynamics of care and contemplate the vulnerability of those needing assistance. 

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Susan Aydan Abbott, “Rebirth, R.O.T. Series,” 2018

Susan Aydan Abbott, “Rebirth, R.O.T. Series,” 2018

digital photograph, 36” x 36” (photo by Leif Norman)

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Susan Aydan Abbott, “Foot, R.O.T. Series,” 2017

Susan Aydan Abbott, “Foot, R.O.T. Series,” 2017

silicone and foam, 12” x 9” (photo by Leif Norman)

Winnipeg artist Susan Aydan Abbott’s work focuses on her unresolved trauma from sexual abuse. Rebirth is a blurred photograph of her naked body curled in fetal position between severed casts of her feet and upper torso. Across the room are the casts themselves, surprisingly lifelike with their bruised and torn flesh. By displaying the casts, Abbott feels she is extracting her pain from her body and freeing herself from shame. The series is called R.O.T. (Rape Over Time) and also includes The Crone, a photograph in which Abbott embraces herself at her current stage of life. Together, the pieces illuminate her journey. 

Embodied also includes work by Vancouver photographer Michèle Bygodt and Edmonton-based Riisa Gundesen. Bygodt’s work questions reality and subjectivity. She is interested in perceptions of the Black body and what that term has come to represent. The exhibition includes three self-portraits from her State series. In one, she tears at her face as though she is trapped in another’s misconception. Gundesen, on the other hand, shows life-sized fleshy and fragmented body parts as she gets ready to go out. Her paintings, the antithesis of glamour, consider the performance of femininity and the connection between anxiety and gender. 

Curator Lou-Anne Bourdeau says the exhibition explores “how we see our bodies and how personal stories can become universal.” While the works reveal moments that are usually kept private, creating an apparent sense of exposure and otherness, they ultimately are relatable for many people. Embodied thus provides a space where people can feel less isolated within their own experiences. ■

Embodied at La Maison des artistes visuels francophones in Winnipeg from Aug. 4 to Sept. 24, 2022.

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La Maison Des Artistes Visuels Francophones Inc

219 Boulevard Provencher, Winnipeg, Manitoba R2H 0G4

204-237-5964

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