PHILLIP TOLEDANO
The Absent Portrait
Edmund Pearce, Melbourne
09 - November 02, 2013
Edmund Pearce Gallery is pleased to announce the premier of a new body of work by internationally renowned artist Phillip Toledano. The Absent Portrait explores the theme of censorship through a purposeful attempt to re-edit the world. In the case of this project, by removing half of humanity.
For this project Toledano obtained original, censored packaging from the Middle East. Packaging from which the women have been erased. Inked out, individually, by an unknown hand. The Absent Portrait presents these women removed and isolated from their original form. Once decontextualised they transform into a portrait. A portrait not of a person, but of absence. Of suppression.
Toledano has long been interested in the idea of delusion, especially in the form of censorship. He says, “I’m intrigued not only by the way in which we lie to ourselves and others, but in the delusions created for us by government and religion. It’s fascinating to see how willingly we participate in these constructs.”
Phillip Toledano (b. 1968) is a British photographer living and working in New York City. As an artist, he works across mediums from photography to installation. His conceptual themes are primarily socio-political. Toledano has five monographs published on his artistic practice, all being received to critical acclaim. His work has appeared in Vanity Fair, The New York Times magazine, The New Yorker, Esquire, GQ, Wallpaper, The London Times, The Independent Magazine, Le Monde, and Interview, amongst others.
© Edmund Pearce