Rebecca Swan
Rebecca’s exhibition, Fabricated Truths, was a narrative of an intimate relationship. The ambiguous nature of the clay models featured in the photographs allows multiple readings and draws on the universal language of vulnerability and dreams.
Rebecca Swan grew up in Wellington and graduated with a BFA from
Elam, Auckland University in 1988. In 1991, just beginning a trip
around the world Rebecca was diagnosed with cancer. she documented
the experience and treatment in a body of work entitled The Big
C. She explains that by photographing herself and writing a
diary "I felt able to express the extreme emotions in front of my
camera that I felt too inhibited to express to other people." The
raw honesty of the work depicts a survivor's story. This is just
one example of Rebecca's oeuvre that explores illness,
relationships, sexuality, and gender identity, they depict the
narrative of her life.
While living in Brighton - "the gay capital of England", Rebecca
embarked on what has become a study on gender culture. Over the
course of nine years, she worked closely with 25 individuals to
document alternative genders. Assume Nothing is "a
fearless exploration and true celebration of the complex world of
gender diversity" in which "gender is embodied, expressed,
transgressed, transformed and performed in many different ways.
Each person reveals their own gender nuance".
Rebecca's work has been exhibited throughout New Zealand as well
as Australia and the U.K. She was awarded a QEII Arts Council Grant
in 1990 and her work is held in public collections such as the
Wallace Arts Trust and TheNewDowse Collection.
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