ALFREDO JAAR: THE STRUCTURE OF IMAGES

August 28, 2021 - July 3, 2022

Featuring works from the MCA Chicago’s Collection and beyond, The Structure of Images gathers together a small but representative selection of Jaar’s works which include such diverse arrangements as triptychs, spotlights, and mirrors. Describing his work in terms of the “politics of images,” Jaar’s prolific career has not only addressed the political and social injustices of our time but also critiqued the representation of such issues. Thinking deeply about the circulation of information and images, Jaar obscures, reveals, and highlights the subjects of his photos, with recent projects such as 100 Women that uses dramatc portraiture and lighting to highlight remarkable women who have been overlooked by Western media. The exhibition also includes earlier works such as R, in which an image of an Ethiopian refugee is reflected in a mirror back at the viewer.

Alfredo Jaar, R, 1990. Silver dye-bleach transparency in light box and mirrors; installed, approximately: 132 × 40 × 24 in. (335.3 × 101.6 × 61 cm). Collection Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, gift from The Howard and Donna Stone Collection, 2002.35.

© 1990 Alfredo Jaar. Courtesy Galerie LeLong, New YorkPhoto: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago