All images by Luís Filipe Branco

I am thrilled that THE UNKNOWN HEROINE project, initiated in Holland in the spring of 2019 with photographer Luís Filipe Branco, will be exhibiting at Michael Warren Contemporary in Denver in March and April and will also be available as a limited edition artists’ book—all during Month of Photography in Denver.

This project began with my investigation of French, feminist, surrealist writer and artist extraordinaire Claude Cahun (1894-1954). My research into Cahun led me to their groundbreaking feminist text, Heroines, first published in 1925. Here, Cahun traces the stories of fifteen heroines‑Eve, Sappho, Delilah, Cinderella, Helen and Judith among them. Cahun updates these well-known (and some lesser known) heroines with panache and humor and points out the gender oppressive characterizations that these heroines have endured over the last few centuries and millennia.

One of the essays in Cahun’s Heroines is titled “THE ESSENTIAL WIFE or the the Unknown Princess” (the the is not a typo). This heroine of Cahun’s is written as an archetype of a more ordinary woman. I chose this specific essay and character to enact and embody because I have lived out these roles of “The Wife” and “the the Princess” (albeit a self-proclaimed princess). The OBRAS Artist Residency in Holland was the perfect setting for my performance of this character; located in a beautiful Victorian house in the small village of Renkum. My long-term collaborator, photographer Luís Branco, joined me there. The house presented a variety of mise-en-scène for my performance. We shot thousands of images of me in the rooms and gardens of this house. This was an intense experience for me, perhaps more cinéma-vérité than performance art. Luís captured these charged and sometimes unsettled moments in rapid fire. These images appear as revealing and personal portraits of an older woman‑the unknown heroine. I started writing a text in Holland as well. The text is stream of consciousness in form and mirrors Cahun’s style.

Early on, I enlisted curator and writer (and dear friend) Cydney Payton to help me with the project. She has been an invaluable and trusted contributor: working with me on the text; helping with the selection of images and just recently she has written an incisive essay for the book. Joseph Logan, my step son and talented book designer, has skillfully and graciously designed the book that documents this project. The small but beautiful 64-page book includes: 19 of the color and black and white images that Luís Branco and I made together; my own experimental text; the essay ”THE ESSENTIAL WIFE or the the Unknown Princess” by Claude Cahun; and Cydney’s essay “A Room of One’s Own.” The book is going to print and will be available in the middle of March. The exhibit will be at Michael Warren Contemporary in Denver March 9^th to April 17^th 2021.

Following are some of the images and text from the project.

The house was beautiful in an old-fashioned way.

There were white tulips in the garden.

Her hair was like a snare. She found some truth in being there.

She saw herself in “THE ESSENTIAL WIFE or the the Unknown Princess.” This was her story and that of countless others.

That’s when Talking Heads played. Stop Making Sense.

She thought, “Why not please him?”

There were the small things, . . . the pearls he shot on her eyes.

. . . the the Unknown Princess dreaming with a cigarette in the garden.

It was all about the gaze. That history being everywhere.

As the Dutch Study filled with light . . .

The question became: What is a Masterpiece?

Many thanks are due to friends and family near and far who have given time, support and their responses to this project. I owe tremendous gratitude to Carolien van der Laan, Ludger van der Eerden and and Josien Jongejan of The OBRAS Foundation. I am very grateful to Mike McClung and Warren Campbell of Michael Warren Contemporary for their support of this exhibition and book. A big thank you ALL AROUND!

Mike and Warren create a safe environment in their spacious gallery during these times. Of course masks are required. We have scheduled a timed opening event and a book signing event that you must sign up for on-line to maintain social distancing. For my friends in Denver and Boulder I am more than happy to schedule a time when I can meet you in the gallery and discuss the exhibit and the book more privately.

THE UNKNOWN HEROINE – March 9-April 17, 2021

Michael Warren Contemporary, 760 Santa Fe Drive, Denver, CO

Gallery Reception: Friday, March 12 (4-8PM) must register on-line

Book Signing: Saturday April 10 (12-5 pm) must register on-line

Phone: (303) 635-6255 Website: https://www.michaelwarrencontemporary.com/

Please contact me if you would like a copy of the book.