Mixed Media
Remains
Feature Wall
Fragments

Fragments

Every day, mirrors present us parts of ourselves as we brush our teeth, examine our blemishes, tweeze, shave or wax our unwanted hair, apply our makeup, check our hemlines and judge our unsightly bulges.  How do we really feel about the person we see in the glass?  Do we engage in a process of introspection or a game of self-deception?  Mirrors, like people, can reflect our true selves back to us or show us only that which we choose to see.  Each of the titles is a musical reference, inspired by childhood memories of my enthusiastic singing performances—for the applause of a looking glass audience.
Who Am I?

My face is the window I present to the world–
containing all the faces I have ever been,
reflecting all the faces I have ever seen.
Can you see through me?

                                    © Gillian McConnell – 2008
The title of this work comes from the song by Pete Townshend of The Who

Who Are You?

Who are you?
Who, who, who, who?
Who are you?
Who, who, who, who?
Who are you?
Who, who, who, who?
Who are you?
Who, who, who, who?

I woke up in a Soho doorway
A policeman knew my name
He said “You can go sleep at home tonight
If you can get up and walk away”

I staggered back to the underground
And the breeze blew back my hair
I remember throwin' punches around
And preachin' from my chair

I took the tube back out of town
Back to the Rollin’ Pin
I felt a little like a dying clown
With a streak of Rin Tin Tin

I stretched back and I hiccoughed
And looked back on my busy day
Eleven hours in the Tin Pan
Picture
Who Are You? / crayon, photographs, wire and hand mirror / 2008
God, there’s got to be another way
Who are you?
Ooh wa oo wa oo wa oo

I know there's a place you walked
Where love falls from the trees
My heart is like a broken cup
I only feel right on my knees

I spit out like a sewer hole
Yet still receive your kiss
How can I measure up to anyone now
After such a love as this?

I really wanna to know
Oh, I really want to know
C'mon tell me who are you, you, you?
Who are you?

                                                Pete Townshend
Picture
Blind Faith / photographs on shaving mirror / 2008
Blind Faith

My eyes are my connection with my world–
they are the tools of my trade–
the lenses through which my memories are made.
My eyes reveal me, conceal me, deceive me–
and when they’re shut? Relieve me.
How can you read me?

                                    © Gillian McConnell – 2008
If my eyes are the windows to my soul, then does my makeup draw the curtains?  Or do the coloured contours, lined lids and black lashes of the eyes I present to the world paint a persona that is also me?
The title of this work alludes to the band Blind Faith, a rock ensemble comprising Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, Ginger Baker and Ric Grech.  They released only one album (self-titled) in 1969, but oh, what an album—best of Traffic and Cream combined!
I bought a second-hand copy of it at Phantasmagoria record shop, once one of Montreal’s most celebrated institutions, when I was about 13.  I no longer have that vinyl disc, but I still love every song on the album (listen to it on YouTube).
How Do You Mend a Broken Heart?

I hold relief from the the symptoms of living–
happy pills and pharmaceutical panacaeas
potions that promise eternal youth–
a wrinkle-free demise.
Why do I hide my pain behind closed doors
reflecting the me you expect to see?

                                    © Gillian McConnell – 2008
How do we respond when someone asks “How are you?”.  What constitutes a brave face?  A smile, “I’m fine, and you?”

The title of this work is taken from the title of the well-known Bee Gees song – How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?

The contents of the medicine cabinet are reflected in the lyrics of the Motown song by Smokey Robinson (The Miracles) that Linda Ronstadt covered poignantly on one of my favourite albums—Prisoner in Disguise
Picture
How Do You Mend A Broken Heart? / X-Ray, photographs, acrylic and Bandaids on medicine cabinet / 2008
Tracks of My Tears

People say I’m the life of the party
Because I tell a joke or two
Although I might be laughing, loud and hearty
Deep inside I’m blue

So take a good look at my face
You’ll see my smile looks out of place
If you look closer, it’s easy to trace
The tracks of my tears.
I need you, need you.

Since you left me if you see me with another girl
Seeming like I’m having fun
Although she may be cute
She’s just a substitute
Because you’re the permanent one.
So take a good look at my face
You'll see my smile looks out of place
If you look closer, it's easy to trace
The tracks of my tears.
I need you, need you.

Outside I'm masquerading
Inside my hope is fading
Just a clown oh yeah
Since you put me down
My smile is my make up
I wear since my break up with you.

So take a good look at my face
You’ll see my smile looks out of place
If you look closer, it’s easy to trace
The tracks of my tears

                                    Smokey Robinson
Picture
Mirror Mirror / photograph on dressing table mirror
Mirror Mirror

Who’s the fairest of them all?
Vanity--that which is vain, futile or worthless.
For all the time I have spent
self-doubting
self-indulging
self-analysing
self-effacing
self-deprecating
self-denying
self-confiding
I’ve been rarely self-content.
Who’s the bravest of them all?

                                    © Gillian McConnell – 2008
The Latin inscription on the base of the mirror is from the Book of Ecclesiastes (Chapter 1, Verse 2) –
vanitas vanitatum omnia vanitas
(vanity of vanities, all is vanity)