Sous Les Etoiles Gallery is pleased to announce "The Play and Staging of the Self: Five Photographers on Identity," featuring the work of emerging and established photographers Laia Abril, Jen Davis, Olya Ivanova, Lindsay Morris, and Chris Rijksen.  "on Identity" will be on view from Wednesday, Sept. 10, through Saturday, Oct. 25, with an opening reception on Sept. 10, 6–8pm.  An Artists Talk with Chris Rijksen and Lindsay Morris will also be held on Monday, Sept. 15, 7–8pm.

"on Identity" explores the construction of identity and its ongoing evolution, with a special emphasis on the play and staging of the self.  Here, the act or experience, rather than biological history, is highlighted.  As boundaries between socially and culturally constructed identities, including body modifications, are reexamined within diverse arrays of sexual and gender groups, the malleability of the self is revealed, and a new transparency of the function, role and position of identity emerges.

In this assembly of photographs, the construction of identity varies as radically as the modes of dress in Chris Rijksen’s Gender as a Performance  series, in which the artist executes a fluid performance of self-portraiture in both traditionally masculine and feminine attire.  In both Laia Abril’s Asexuals Project  and Olya Ivanova’s Weirdo  the individual is presented as part of a group identity in order to gain visibility, understanding, and legitimacy in an increasingly networked age.  In contrast are scenes from Lindsay Morris’ You Are You  series, wherein gender non-conforming children play out their interpretations of gender at a weekend summer camp, and Jen Davis’ webcam  series, in which Davis pairs self-portraits and screenshots of “Alexi,” an invented object of desire.  While diverse in both their approach and aesthetics, each series casts a fresh glance on the making and experience of identity in an ever-changing social landscape.

Laia Abril (b. 1986) is a documentary photographer and researcher raised in Barcelona whose work focuses on issues of women, gender and identity.  Her work can be found in the collections of the Musée de l’Élysée and Fotomuseum Winterthur (Switzerland), and has appeared in several publications, including The Sunday Times Magazine, D Repubblica, Le Monde, The New York Times, Burn Magazine, British Journal of Photography, and COLORS Magazine.  Recently, Abril was nominated for the Magnum Foundation and the Joop Swart Masterclass.  She is currently working on a new book project, "The Epilogue," to be released by Dewi Lewis Publishing.