Critical Writing Index

Auto/Pathographies: Re-constructing Identity through Representations of Illness

by Jolene Pozniak

No More Potlucks, Jan. 2010, no. 7

This article reviews the many photographic, video and performance artworks included in the exhibition Auto/pathographies, which investigates the topic of illness and self-representation. All the artworks are auto-biographical in nature, and show the artists' own struggles with living with and conceptualizing their illnesses. Some of these works also investigate the gender politics of some illnesses, such as breast cancer, the politics of the medical industry, and question the idea of healthy and normal bodies.

ITEM 2010.088 – available for viewing in the Research Centre

Videos, Artworks and Artists Cited

The Final Project – Jo Spence

The Final Project – Terry Dennett

Cancer Sisters – Jo Spence

Empathographies – Christina Lammer

Imag(in)ed Malady – Tina Takemoto

Imag(in)ed Malady – Angela Ellesworth

Arm's Length – Tina Takemoto

Arm's Length – Angela Ellesworth

Caffeine and Carotene – Tina Takemoto

Caffeine and Carotene – Angela Ellesworth

Mille Excuses (So Sorry/ Es tut mir Leid) – Carl Bouchard

Headstrong All the Way Round – Chantal DuPont