essay by Mark Wasiuta and Erin Ferris
Media Release. October 25, 1993

Donna Nield: Cicatrix

Opening (8pm) NOVEMBER 9 until DECEMBER 4, 1993

The Or Gallery introduces its second exhibition in our new facility with a photographic installation entitled Cicatrix by Vancouver artist Donna Nield.

Nield states that her work investigates how scars on human bodies index traumatic events which form narratives, later remembered in relation to personal histories. The installation consists of photographic transparencies of enlarged scars which are displayed on freestanding Plexiglas stands. By using these display stands she is making reference to the idealized ‘feminine’ skin which is promoted as a product of contemporary advertising and cosmetology. The scars were cast in latex prior to being photographed. This process mimics a cosmetic promotion technique in which the customer’s skin is cast and magnified in order to diagnose ‘skin types’. In Cicatrix the images juxtaposed with identifYing texts provoke questions regarding the representation of the body as a means to locate or fix identity.

Nield researched Cicatrix while doing a Masters Degree of Fine Arts at the University of British Columbia.

Brochure Text by Mark Wasiuta and Erin Ferris.