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Noguchi, Louise
Compilation Portrait #18
1996

Compilation Portrait #18 is one of a series of works by Louise Noguchi created by weaving together, by hand, two photographs. In each case one of the photographs is of the artist herself, and the other is either of a well-known murderer or a victim of murder. The ambiguity of the result forces the viewer to attempt in vain to assimilate the pieces into a comprehensible image. The works challenge our notion of identity, serving to break down the boundaries between victim and victimizer or between criminal and lawful citizen. It exposes these categories as social constructs used to fix the boundaries between good and evil. Through this series Noguchi creates a complex psychological space in which she reveals our capacity to take on either role.

 
Noguchi, Louise
born Toronto, Ontario, 1958
Compilation Portrait #18
1996
woven photographs
height / width: 133.00 x 104.20 cm; 52.36 x 41.02 in.
Purchased with support of the Canada Council Acquisition Assistance Program and Chancellor Richardson Memorial Fund, 1997
40-034a

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