January 22, 2010

Fausta Facciponte: Reliable Now Open at Cambridge Galleries in Cambridge

Fausta Facciponte: Reliable
January 16-March 14, 2010

Reliable marks Fausta Facciponte’s second solo exhibition of large format photographic close-ups of doll’s faces. The artist uses digital photography as a means of reclaiming these common childhood playthings, many of which have been found second-hand or purchased on eBay. Each image has been constructed out of dozens of individual photos that have been digitally stitched together to capture the fine detail of each doll's expression, their individual quirks and personalities. At first glance these images appear cheerful and bright, but they also call to mind historical mourning and memorial photographs, which often focused on children as their subject. If these luminous images suggest an aspect of childhood innocence, then they also seize upon the haunting quality of innocence lost.

Fausta Facciponte is a photographer based in Mississauga, Ontario, who uses both traditional film-based and modern digital processes in her work. Her photography has been exhibited in Canada, the United States and Japan. She received her Honours Bachelor of Arts from the University of Toronto in 1990, and has been the recipient of various awards including: the Toronto Image Works Award, the Talens Bursary Award, and the D.L. Stevenson & Sons Artists Award. In 2008, she was the recipient of an Ontario Arts Council grant. Her work is in the permanent collections of the McMaster Museum of Art, Art Gallery of Peel, Sheridan College Collection, and in various private collections. Fausta Facciponte is represented by the Stephen Bulger Gallery in Toronto.

Fausta Facciponte, Peter, 2009, Digital photograph, archival pigment ink face mounted on plexiglas. Courtesy of Stephen Bulger Gallery.

www.cambridgegalleries.ca