"On more than one occasion, The Clichettes (aka artists Louise Garfield, Janice Hladki, and Johanna Householder) performed as aliens in drag as humans, adopting an otherworldly outsider’s lens while inhabiting identities shaped by the hyperfeminine pop songs they’d lip-sync. As flamboyant aliens who attempt – but hilariously fail – to pass in their restrictive gendered roles, they speak a truth fundamental to their collective body of cabaret-style performances: 'It’s exhausting to be a girl.'

"The Clichettes, Lips, Wigs, and Politics, at the McMaster Museum of Art, presents the legacy of their performances and plays created between 1978 and 1993 through an immersive spectacle of costumed mannequins elevated on stages amid an array of props, video footage, and soulful music that rightly overwhelms on first contact." (Taken from the first two paragraphs).

Author Stephanie Vegh describes the Clichettes retrospective. Costumes, recorded performances, and archival materials available for viewing May 21 to November 22, 2024.