Frances Cohen- curated by Christina Lauren: The Many Faces of Frances 2021

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The Mill welcomes emerging artist Frances Cohen and their new exhibition 'The Many Faces of Frances', curated by emerging curator Christina Lauren.

Drawing on identity politics, and underpinned by theories of the self, Frances' portraiture explores what it is to know and to understand the complexity of one's self. Frances uses found images alongside photographic selfies layered with thick paint and gap filler to create a textural surface where features of the portraits are obscured, slipping and displaced. The works are uncanny, evocative and emotional, conveying a sense of uncertainty and heaviness while also appealing to the empathetic recognition of the viewer, eliciting the question who is this portrait of, could it be me?

Frances and curator Christina Lauren have worked together to present this exhibition which invites audiences to consider conceptual underpinnings alongside Frances' use of material and process. Within this, they have generously opened a discussion around mental illness, and in particular Borderline Personality Disorder, which Frances speaks about from a personal perspective.