American artist and writer Marisa J. Futernick will have a solo exhibition in the GCC that opened Oct. 1.

Futernick uses text and images to uncover complex social and political pasts uniquely. She addresses class disparity through environmental expressions such as using buildings and art, writing, and photography. She explicitly uses her voice and physical body to subvert gender stereotypes to bring a better understanding of human history. The new exhibition includes Futernick in staged photos of herself wearing a paper facemask to assume the identities of multiple presidential candidates, according to a release from the Office of Communications at GCC. 

The art piece, which contains a paper facemask, clearly explains gender stereotypes. The majority of candidates in nearly all elections are male. Women have been face masked with a notion that male emerge as victors. Futernick protests that women also have a significant role in the country’s politics and can neatly weave together any frictional lines, such as stereotypes.

Futernick also stages the art as comparing past American elections with the present. This happens at a crucial time when America heads to midterm elections. Past elections have seemed to contain similarities with the current, in which common ideologies and manifestos are used; she termed it Americanness. Multiple presidential candidates attempt to show their uniqueness, but deeply, they are the same in actions and beliefs. 

Futernick intertwines history and fact with fiction and tells stories that address a continuous inequality. She also expresses the identity of failed presidential aspirants, which uncovers sardonic and deadpan archives which depict US identity. She presents her greater knowledge, passing a stronger message to current and future generations. 

The press release suggests that Futernick’s artwork explores complex mythologies, uncovers failed political candidates, and strongly expresses visible social disparities and political histories running in America. 

Syuzanna Fodolyan can be reached by [email protected].