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Kelli Connell at Stephen Wirtz
Art in America, Feb, 2008 by D.C. Murray
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Kelli Connell's exhibition "Double Life" explored the intricacies of sexual and gender roles through a strikingly cinematic collection of still images. The eight large-scale photographs, from a series she has worked on since 2002, seem to depict the everyday domestic experiences of two women in their early 30s. The women appear to be identical twins, with only slight variations in grooming, hair color and dress. However, the intimacy portrayed in some of the photographs complicates this reading, suggesting moments in the lives of a young lesbian couple.
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This ambiguity is the result of the artist's skillful use of digital technology. Connell scans and manipulates multiple negatives using Adobe Photoshop, which enables her to convincingly render her lone model--a college friend--twice within a single frame. The result is a seamlessly constructed digital collage that permits the artist to visually question the veracity of photographic "realism."
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Bubble Bath (all works 2002) is a stylishly composed interior scene depicting Connell's doubled protagonist in a bathroom. One figure lounges provocatively in a bubble bath while the other, partially clad in a towel, sits attentively next to the tub. Brickhaus Cafe plays with gender roles in its portrayal of the two personages engaged in conversation as they sit across from each other at a small table. One character is presented as a bookish intellectual in masculine attire, while the other wears a skirt and flirtatiously smokes a cigarette.
The strongest and most beautiful photograph of the group is The Space Between, which has a cinematic lushness that evokes Cindy Sherman's early film stills. A close-up of one woman in profile and the other in three-quarter view, it seems to capture a moment of either silent tenderness or emotional aloofness. By tapping into a universal human experience and upending the role that social identity often plays in artistic production, Connell gives her images a narrative warmth and ease that transcend an activist or queer-feminist agenda. [A show of 10 images from the same series was on view at Yossi Milo, New York, Apr. 19-June 2, 2007.]
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