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Mission 17

October 17 - November 23, 2008

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2111 Mission Street Suite 401 San Francisco, CA 94110
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Depleted Selves "Newshead," Cheryl Meeker, 2008
A Photography project by Cheryl Meeker Curated by Clark Buckner Opening Reception: Friday, October 17th, 6 – 9 pm How does seeing entail social responsibility? Is sight power-laden, political? What role does blindness play in determining what we take to be true? In her on-going photography project, “Depleted Selves,” Cheryl Meeker explores these questions by tracing the boundaries between artwork, social consciousness, and the changing role of journalism in a networked society. The project is inspired by the U.S. military’s use of munitions made with depleted uranium, and their purported contribution to birth-defects in Iraq, including some children born without eyes. Meeker has gathered a library of hotly-contested literature on the use and effects of depleted uranium, which provokes the questions: what we can confidently take to be true in this internet age, how much do we know about our military’s activities, and what information has been withheld? She has shared this information primarily with friends and other visual artists, for whom knowledge is important and the prospect of having no eyes is unthinkable. And she has asked them to work with her to stage a series of “anti-portraits,” in which their eyes and/or faces have been covered and their identities have been obscured. The resulting images are both haunting and humorous. They speak directly to feelings of shame, as if their subjects are turning away from an undeniable truth, blinding themselves to realities in which we find ourselves implicated. But they also playfully explore anonymity, collaboration, and the construction of masks. And, at the show, audience members will be invited to consider the literature, participate in the discussion, and contribute images of their own. - Clark Buckner