Untitled (Persona Case Study), Window Installation at ATA
This installation is a sample case study of the saga of JT LeRoy, homeless youth turned author, who was eventually revealed to be a persona created by writer Laura Albert. JT was an avatar with a dual purpose: to articulate the traumas she could not directly express, and to interface with the public, which she could not personally engage. Since Laura's identity was revealed in 2006, she has been repeatedly vilified in the media.
The installation questions the fixed meanings and rigid thinking that limit our perception, comparing Laura’s artistic gesture to a variable in a complex, unresolved algorithm. It combines texts with images directly connected to Laura/JT, and positions them beside other social commentaries on the construction of identity and the nature of truth.
In conjunction with this installation is a personal appearance by Laura Albert, who will join Jasmin Lim for a discussion moderated by SF Camerwork curator, Chuck Mobley, at ATA on Wednesday, August 24 at 7 PM. www.atasite.org
interview with knight of faith