Anonymous

Posted by: Wall space gallery

Wall space is pleased to showcase our gallery-represented artist Heidi Lender in her first solo exhibition in Santa Barbara. Ms. Lender explores the issue of identity and gender politics, of emotional connections and physical expectations using her humorous and quirky anonymous self-portraiture. Her anonymity within the compositions creates a unique opportunity for us as viewers to connect and take a critical look at our own expectations.
It is Heidi’s ability to engage us in the complexities of emotion, of not only a woman’s role in society, but also to meet the presumption of being superwoman. Feminist roles have clearly changed decade to decade, but the understanding of women’s expectations of having and doing it all has remained a constant. Ms. Lender’s questioning of those mores, of how she fits into these assumed roles is what motivates her to take on the persona of this mythical superwoman.
In utilizing the device of self-portraiture, Heidi challenges the common assumption of portraiture as selfish and self-indulgent. Precisely the opposite happens with Ms. Lender’s work. It is in the anonymous nature of the images she creates that the idea that accessibility and connection can happen while she explores her own feelings on what it is to take on these roles.
We are pleased to showcase three unique series from Ms. Lender, all tied together within the boundaries of exploring ones identity, creativity and place in today’s society.
In the series She Can Leap Tall Buildings, Ms. Lender explores the notions of a woman’s role as well as paying homage to her own mother, her original Superwoman. In taking on the personas of the businesswoman, creative artist and homemaker, we see ourselves as we stretch to meet expectations of greatness.
Once Upon started as a daily photo project, and became an exercise in creating a new persona, the mashup of exterior persona and private interior. In a quote from her artist statement Heidi states, I investigate the host of personalities within, the layers that make up the self, the characters we hide, show, accept and reject, and the role that fashion and design play in molding those characters.
Road Trip was a deeply personal exploration of self, of finding strength in pain, and of moving forward after loss. In this 35-day drive across the Western United States, Ms. Lender not only finds herself, but a view of America as unique and individual as she is.
About Heidi Lender-
Heidi Lender once reported on the fashion universe for national magazines, writing features and styling photo shoots. With a BA in apparel and textiles from Cornell University, she covered style, design, food and travel from New York to Paris. A soulful search led her to India, where she lived part-time studying yoga, and subsequently taught in San Francisco in her own studio. In 2009, she finally found herself – behind the lens of her first digital SLR, and retired her pen and yoga professorship in favor of making pictures. Heidi is a member of the online collective, Six Shooters, and currently obsessed with instagram. She splits her time between Amagansett, NY and Garzon, Uruguay.