Through the Lens: Identity, Representation, and Self-Presentation

Through the Lens is a group photography exhibition featuring the artwork of Jamie Robertson, (Houston, Texas), Yvel Clovis, (Cincinnati, OH) and Jessica Alvarenga, (Los Angeles, CA).  Robertson’s series “Making Reference” interrogates representations of how Black women are represented in photography. Clovis’ series uses photography to explore his Haitian nationality, and Alvarenga’s “Queer Pentecostal Lookbook” series reimagines gender without the limitations of a strict religious upbringing.

Ultimately, Through the Lens brings together three photographers whose art addresses the complexities of identity. Race, sexual orientation, gender, and nationality are just a handful of ways that we use to identify ourselves and others. This exhibition explores the nuances of those identities, including notions of representation and self-presentation.  A “lens,” typically thought of as a camera component used to focus on a photographic subject,  is also a metaphor for referring to our perspective of looking at the world, and subsequently how we relate to it.  Through the Lens takes both the literal and metaphorical meaning of our featured artists’ current series to help us explore our own perceptions.