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Black and white photo of a persons back and shoulder, partially obscured by long hair. The hand is gently placed on the head, showcasing painted nails. The focus is on skin texture and hair.

Masks and Mirrors: Reflections of Femininity in Photography

Black and white photo of a person sitting and holding an open book with their own image on the page. They are looking down, wearing a jacket over a shirt, and smoke drifts upward from a cigarette in their hand.

June 7 - August 31, 2025

In her 1992 self-portrait Me:Me, British artist Gillian Wearing explores what has been described as "the public masquerade of femininity"—implying that we are always performing our gender for others as well as for ourselves.

In our fast-paced age of social media, pervasive double standards of what is “feminine” alongside accepted behaviors and perceptions of beauty mar our daily lives. Photography, the art of capturing a moment in time, has been regarded as a medium that documents subjects as they appear. But behind the focus of a camera lens, artifice can occur: figures are purposefully posed, slathered in make-up, and costumed, producing a series of masks and mirrors. 

This exhibition presents a selection of works from the museum’s permanent collection that spotlight the interaction of gender and technology between the early use of photography and the dawn of the Internet.

Masks and Mirrors is curated by Stella Morris ‘26, Fred W. Hicks Curatorial Fellow at the RMA.

Image Top: Brett Weston, (American, 1911-1993), Classic Nude [detail], ca. 1970, Silver gelatin print, 8 x 10 in., Gift from the Christian Keesee Collection. 2021.7. © Christian Keesee Collection

Image Right: Gillian Wearing, (British, b. 1963), Me:Me, 1991-1992, Bromide print mounted on aluminum, 20 1/4 x 17 1/8 in., The Alfond Collection of Contemporary Art, Rollins Museum of Art. Gift of Barbara ‘68 and Theodore ‘68 Alfond, 2016.3.16. Image courtesy of the artist, Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York and Maureen Paley, London

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