FOR 6/20 EDITH MAYBIN'S TENBY DOCUMENT ON VIEW AT EDWYNN HOUK GALLERY
FOR 6/20 EDITH MAYBINâS TENBY DOCUMENT ON VIEW AT EDWYNN HOUK GALLERY
AVV/cd set 6/10 #741995
NEW YORK CITY â Edwynn Houk Gallery presents the premiere New York exhibition of Edith Maybinâs photographic series, âThe Tenby Document,â on view through August 28.
âThe Tenby Documentâ is an intimate exploration of the interactions between mother and daughter, and the discovery of the âselfâ through another. In 2005, Maybin began to photograph herself and her daughter in a house in the town of Tenby, Wales.
Playfully reenacting stories within their enclosed setting, Maybin photographed mother and child separately and in the same position, often bridging the gap between them by digitally reassembling their bodies into a single figure. The structured Marks & Spencer undergarments featured in the photographs link the two models to the tradition of Maybinâs own mother, further blurring the lines that distinguish one generation from another.
Maybin positions herself and her daughter in front of mirrors and windows within a private home. Inspired by Lady Clementina Hawardenâs Victorian photographs of her daughters, Maybin offers reflections and openings as escapes from domestic and social structures.
She subverts the viewerâs gaze by providing the feminine mystique as decoy, and as a result, she and her daughter are further free to escape by way of reverie and play. In this interior setting, mother and daughter reverse roles and identities, and together engage in novel forms of self-discovery.
Throughout the series, Maybin employs surrealist distortions that challenge reality: a woman and her child are merged into one, the back of a head is reflected where the face should appear, four legs emerge from a single torso.
Maybinâs photographs grant access to that which is beyond the usual limits of perception, and these views of the individual are the core of Maybinâs exploration. By photographing herself and her daughter and combining the results, Maybin documents the metaphorical, mirrored reflections of mother and child.
The gallery is at 745 Fifth Avenue. For information, www.houkgallery.com or 212-750-7070.