Schneider Gallery
230 W Superior St
312.988.4033
This event has passed.
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Laila Essaydi, Light of the Harem, 2008. Courtesy Schneider Gallery
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Opens Friday May 1, 2009 (5–7:30pm)
May 1, 2009 – June 20, 2009
Tuesdays–Fridays (10:30am–5pm)
Saturdays (11am–5pm)
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Taking a scalpel to simplistic Western perceptions of the Middle East, Lalla Essaydi's painstakingly crafted photographs feel implicitly political, yet deeply and personally felt. Her stunning Les Femmes du Maroc series is at once stylized and earthy, leaving us to untangle prickly contradictions: received images of submissive Harem girls with Islamic calligraphy scrawled everywhere. Still, Essaydi's piercingly naturalistic portraits reject the inflammatory. The sheer humanity and dignity of her lens outweighs any easy post-Orientalism polemics. It's no small order, considering Essaydi's hefty ambitions.
