Decorations of Disorder

PDNB's premier installation is Joy and pain

Comments (0) By Merritt Martin Thursday, May 10 2007

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When it comes to self-control, food is a very powerful tool. Eating can soothe, disgust, pacify, invigorate and depress. When thought of in that respect, it's easy to see why so many are plagued by various eating disorders including anorexia and bulimia. Seems fitting then that photographer/artist Joy Christiansen would choose to employ her exceptionally powerful photographs and installations to draw attention to said disorders and the effects they have on families and individual victims. In Photographs Do Not Bend Gallery's first installation exhibit, Christiansen's Family Gathering is featured—a living room set-up with images and text on and in the furniture. The tactile installation is inviting and disturbing as viewers can actually thumb through a Rolodex, open desk drawers and sit on a couch, all while taking in the dramatic images and words of lives in disorder. An artist's reception opens the show from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday. Also on display is Hidden Secrets, an earlier nude self-portrait series examining children's hiding spaces as an adult. Christiansen's work will remain on display Tuesdays through Saturdays through June 16. PDNB is located at 1202 Dragon St. Call 214-969-1852 or visit pdnbgallery.com.
Tuesdays-Saturdays. Starts: May 12. Continues through June 16