Composed of loans and works from the MSVU collection, this exhibition surveyed feminist approaches to autobiographical narrative. Each work presented a personal drama, prompting viewers to consider how the self is produced as “persona” in a viewing encounter from which the artist is absent. There was a marked tendency among the artists to borrow from documentary formats, such as the family snapshot and the sociological field interview.
In Absentia was organized by Curatorial Assistant Tonia Di Risio, who selected works by Linda Bartlett (Fredericton), Elsii Caetano Faria (Toronto), Rosalie Favell (Winnipeg), Andrea Ward (Halifax/Toronto) and Jan Peacock (Halifax).