Issue No. 28 – Control

What is the nature of control? The desire for it—and to be free of it—are essential parts of both life and art.

Exhibition Review: Carolyn Drake: Knit Club

Exhibition Review: Carolyn Drake: Knit Club

ⒸCarolyn Drake/ Katherine, 2019/ Archival pigment print 38 3/8 x 51 inches Edition of 5

Written by Michelle O’Malley

Edited by Sophie Yates

We regard art as something to be viewed, but without question as to why we are entitled to. Does anyone really get to decide whether they are observed or not? In today’s age of social media and easy access to recording devices, it seems that most people don’t have much say in the matter of privacy. In response to this phenomenon, artist Carolyn Drake boldly takes a stab at harnessing some control over unwanted observation. Drake alters viewer’s perceptions of both femininity and art in general through her exhibition’s inclusion of her series Knit Club and Isolation Therapy presented at the Yancey Richardson Gallery.

Knit Club features photographs reflecting the early time in Drake’s career when she collaborated with a number of female artists in Water Valley, Mississippi. Through her work, Drake redirects viewers’ perceptions of femininity away from their bodies’ and toward their own narratives. Drake achieves this artful deviation by covering the faces and body parts of the women photographed with random objects like plaster, picture frames, and even an eagle's head. By obscuring these female subjects, the male gaze is canceled out and we instead focus on the surrounding atmosphere, such as the small child sitting at their feet or the flowers surrounding them. Motherhood is portrayed as more than just a result of sexuality, but rather a highly regarded job that requires a strong being. 

ⒸCarolyn Drake/ Lucy with Azaleas, 2018/ Archival pigment print 38 3/8 x 51 inches Edition of 5

Similar in composition, Isolation Therapy features photographs of an assortment of seemingly miscellaneous objects that come together to form an underrepresented perception of universal concepts. During the early stages of the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, Drake searched for a new artistic outlet as a way of making sense of the mandatory isolation. By combining basic household items with the outside, natural world, Drake questions the different narratives of humanity: our domestic obligations and primitive need to connect with nature. 

These mystical assortments are photographed with backdrops of differing tarps and clothes as a way of bringing all of the objects together in one cohesive piece of art. What really makes this piece alter everyday perceptions is the placement of a surveillance camera throughout the gallery. The inclusion of the surveillance camera acts to allow the art to ‘observe’ the artist and in, the idea of only people being able to observe art is turned over on its head as the camera symbolically breaks this barrier between artist and art. 

The camera is also meant to represent the constant surveillance people seem to face today and how this can affect our actions. Although perpetual media coverage can be seen as intrusive, sharing made public does have an ability to keep people from around the world connected to some degree. During the lockdown in 2020, news and social media outlets served as the only way of being aware of the virus, without actually risking coming in contact with it. 

ⒸCarolyn Drake/ Dollhouse, 2019/ Archival pigment print 23 7/8 x 30 7/8 inches Edition of 5

The Knit Club will be on display at the Yancey Richardson Gallery from March 5th to April 9, 2022.  

To view more information about this exhibit, visit the Yancey Richardson Gallery’s website here.

Photo Editor: Chris Zarcadoolas    

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