marlene hilton moore: since_because_when

Images (left to right): since_because_when_16343 and since_because_when_16409. Courtesy of the Artist, Marlene Hilton Moore.

marlene hilton moore: since_because_when

Bob Carnie Gallery, Toronto
April 20 – May, 27, 2023
Artist Present April 29 and May 6, 2023, 1 pm – 4pm

since_because_when is a solo exhibition, the ninth in a series of photographs engaged in the narrative of a woman, a place and a dress. This series of photographs visually weaves together encoded cultural messages that allude to personal social histories and elaborate the identities of the individual women.

Who are these women, what is the place that touches their lives and what are they doing? The detail of the woman, her body language, her actions, the physical space, and the aura of the image reveal the shared components of vision and reality.

since_because_when portrays a distinctly personal narrative. The use of subordinating conjunctions in the title offers a key to the condition, comparison, time, place and reason of this woman’s journey. The woman of this series lives a life that begins in Harlem and migrates to Toronto. Toronto is the since, Harlem is the when, and because is the in-between.

The photographs of since_because_when show a woman in a simple blue linen dress on a beach with gentle waves lapping the shore. She remembers as a child being taken to the beaches outside New York City by her parents and the white caps on the shore created a memory that shaped her sense of a favourite place. The beach in the photos is Lake Ontario, perhaps significant in that it is a body of water that touches both New York State and Toronto and the lapping water holds the memory.

A vintage American flag has entered the picture. She drags the flag along the beach, she appears to be washing it, her shadow hovers over it. The flag lies forlorn. This may be the, because, between since and when. At a certain point the woman removes her sandals and sets them beside the flag. She contemplates the water with its gentle waves. She enters the water, the foam laps her feet, and eventually she rests on a beach rock looking out with a visage of complex comprehension.

since_because_when_16455. Courtesy of the Artist, Marlene Hilton Moore.

The woman, place and dress of the previous series of photographs conceptually link with since_because_when.

Inside My Skin: a dress sewn in the crazy quilt technique and embroidered with the names of all the female members of my family; an autobiographical work photographed in my living room and in which I am represented by the mannequin.

peonia_beauty: a dress sewn with fifty black taffeta peonies; a musing young woman walks barefoot through the deteriorating architecture of an old farm homestead.

She in the Forest: a dress of burnt gold velvet with royal purple collar; a sensuous primal woman exudes the essence of fable as she moves within the forest as her space.

Sister to Botticelli: a contemporary tapestry dress accentuated by red shoes and sultry red lipstick; a contemplative young woman passionate about design wanders through the eclectic interior of an artist’s home and studio.

Botticelli Runner: a long pink velvet dress; a young woman who is a Botticelli vision with pale blue eyes and golden red hair races the geometric hard-edge track upon which she trains for her long distance running.

Ancestral: a vintage style silk dress of the 60’s era; a woman born in this time visits the place of her heritage, the lunar rocks on the edge of the Baie de Chaleur and the family homestead.

Cathedral: a molten silver lamé evening gown; an elderly woman returns from the city to her rural roots and walks on the hay-spilled floor of the family barn, through which the sunlight filters to create a luminescent environment – a cathedral.

Pixie’s World: a thrift shop prom dress upon which is embroidered Sugar Free and Fuck; an art student infiltrates herself and her chaotic bachelor apartment with tattoos, piercings, caution tape, and her artwork.

Bio

Marlene Hilton Moore’s artwork engages the identity of the female in today’s society through sculpture, audiovisual installations, and photography. Her extensive schedule of solo and group exhibitions includes galleries in Ontario, Quebec and the East Coast.

Marlene has also been a recipient of many Public Art Commissions over the last twenty years. Her distinctive profile in Canadian visual arts is marked by outstanding achievements at local and national levels, particularly in the complex arena of Public Art and Monuments.

Marlene retired from her professorship at the School of Design and Visual Arts, Georgian College following a distinguished 25-year teaching career.

Bob Carnie Gallery
1681 Dundas Street West, Toronto, ON, M6K 1V2
416-677-3522
Partially Accessible

Marlene Hilton Moore
marlenehiltonmoore@gmail.com

Instagram @marlenehiltonmoore
Facebook @marlene.hiltonmoore