Exhibition at Window Winnipeg by Mahlet Cuff, curated by Calling Card (Noor Bhangu, Christina Hajjar, and Mariana Muñoz Gomez)

July 14 to August 13, 2018

Occupy gave women, queer women, non-binary, and trans folks an opportunity to talk about their experiences with taking up space. Through the interviews it gave them the ability to be open, honest, vulnerable, and uplifted through the progression of the conversations. They were able to discuss times where they take up space in places that are not “made” for them or that have been taken up by more privileged people. I also photograph the subjects in places they are either comfortable in or I capture them being comfortable in their own bodies within these spaces they feel are not meant for them.

Being able to interview and photograph each person was so different from the other. As I kept photographing folks every couple of weeks I realized most of them have never had their photo taken professionally in a casual sense. They asked if they should pose or not and each time a person asked me I said, “Do what makes you feel comfortable and happy.” From that moment on I could feel them being less unsure about how they should look as they felt invited to take up that space however they could. As I continue to take photos of people who are usually not given a voice I hope that they are able to feel open and unapologetic about how they occupy certain spaces.

Read an interview with Mahlet Cuff here.

Mahlet Cuff is an interdisciplinary artist from Treaty One territory—so called Winnipeg, Manitoba—who uses mediums such as photography, collaging, poetry, textiles, and sound to produce her work. Through her practice she hopes to create more awareness about the lack of representation of women of colour and queer people of colour in media. Her work has been shown at local galleries and events such as aceartinc. and Nuit Blanche’s Nuit Noire. In addition, her portraiture was also in the womenofcolour@soagallery exhibition, which was in response to the absence of women of colour in the permanent collection of the University of Manitoba’s School of Art. In her free time she loves reading feminist zines, watching cheesy romantic comedies and taking down the patriarchy one day at a time.

Calling Card is a nomadic curatorial collective formed by Noor Bhangu, Christina Hajjar, and Mariana Muñoz Gomez. This is the first iteration of their collaboration.