I am still what I meant to be
Alana Riley

April 23 to May 24, 2009

“The core of my artistic practice involves orchestrated interactions with others. I examine how we function socially and relate to one another physically, intimately and emotionally. My concepts emerge from my interest in portraiture and involve questions of identity and intimacy. I explore this through staged or random encounters with people, either familiar or unknown. By setting-up situations and interactions that would not normally occur in the everyday, I hope to trigger emotional and/or physical responses that provoke contemplation and to dramatize the relationships that form the undercurrent of our everyday lives.

In the series I am still what I meant to be, I asked individuals to recall their earliest childhood memory of what they wanted to be when they grew up. I then photographed each subject in 2 environments: in their ‘dream’ environment where they performed a version of what they might have been, as well as in their ‘real’ work environment. The photographs are presented as diptychs in a non-sequential order, allowing the viewer to question the “true” identity of the subject. This series explores the play between ‘fantasy’ and ‘reality’, questioning the pivotal role one’s employment has in identity formation within social confines.”

Alana Riley is a photo/video-based artist living in Montreal. She completed her BFA from Concordia University in Studio Art and Photography in 2003. Her work has been exhibited in solo and group shows in Canada and the United States. She is on the Board of Directors at Dazibao, centre de photographies actuelles. Riley’s work is represented by the Joyce Yahouda Gallery.