“I don’t think desire can be separated from vision, and I don’t think it can be separated from photography regardless of whether or not there is a human body in the photograph. It’s not just about sexual lust. The surfaces and mirrors that I use reference an art historical, vernacular historical, or contemporary reference that assert the importance of desire in photography. Photography is a technology that produces for us images that wish to be seen. Photographs wouldn’t exist if we didn’t desire them to, whether that desire comes from lust or curiosity.”
We’re kicking off this week with the words of artist Paul Mpagi Sepuya, whose artwork Self-portrait Study with Roses at Night (1709) is on view in Scaife Gallery 16. Come see this remarkable work in person!