Curatorial statement by exhibit curator, UNC student Lydia Mertink:
Mirror, Mirror is a celebration, presentation, and critique of the human condition through the eyes of Colorado and Texas-based artists Hollie Annesley, Juliette Black, Hunter Harwick, Grace Hoag, Tori Knutsen, Emily Mertink, Andrew Ordono, Heather Plastow, and Bri Young. Each artist in the exhibition challenges the viewers’ preconceived notions of what a portrait should be. Artists have created portraits for hundreds of years in order to accomplish many things. Some portraits were created for the elite of society to display their superiority, some were created simply out of necessity to learn technical skills of drawing the human figure, and some to bravely overcome stereotypes long projected onto certain demographics. Every day we must decide whether we’re going to believe what others think about us or if we’re going to strive to tell the world our story one Instagram post, one diary entry, or one artwork at a time. The pieces in Mirror, Mirror span a wide range of portraiture work and explore themes such as personal connection with nature, celebrating the human body, dealing with mental illness, and symbolically representing one’s deepest emotions. The portfolio of artworks also ranges in media to further diversify the way artists express themselves or others.
Mirror, Mirror does not so much seek to answer the question, “Who is the fairest one of all?” but to engage the audience in a discussion of who decides what “beauty” is and how these artists present a version of themselves or others that is beautiful. Is there beauty in the universal relatability of these works? In their imperfections? What about in their honesty?
