"How is identity created, expressed, and rendered visible? In Ball's poised and restrained portraits-infused with the aesthetic codes of fashion-identity is not portrayed as a stable condition, but as a fluid visual experiment. Through eight works, Ball weaves together an embodied inquiry that resonates beyond formal language, encompassing the nuanced expression of individuality, the performativity of identity, and offers a reflective gaze toward the cultural psyche of our time."
"As early as the 1970s, Bowie had already begun constructing performative personas-most notably 'The Thin White Duke'-that predated Judith Butler's theory of gender performativity. Bowie's self-mythologizing continually redefined the expressive vocabulary of popular culture. The spirit of Bowie's work is echoed in Ball's artistic practice. For both Bowie and Ball, identity is not a static attribute but a dynamic choreography between self-presentation and social reception, identity and performance-a visual action that is continually constructed and dismantled."
Sarah Ball's Oh! You Pretty Things at Longlati Foundation in Shanghai presents eight poised, restrained portraits that treat identity as a fluid visual experiment. The portraits incorporate fashion aesthetics and references to 1930s cinema, featuring suits, furs, sweaters and workwear rendered with meticulous realism and porcelain-like makeup. Ball channels David Bowie's performative personas, exploring how self-presentation and social reception choreograph identity. The work traces 21st-century dandyism and the performativity of gender, offering a reflective gaze on individuality, cultural psyche, and the continual construction and dismantling of visual personas.
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