Hara Chikei | Zoe Leonard, You see I am here after all
Zoe Leonard's collection explores the relationship between collective memory and mass consumption through images of Niagara Falls.Summary
The monograph, based on the installation by American artist Zoe Leonard presented at Dia Beacon between 2008 and 2011, is titled *You see I am here after all*. It examines the relationship between collective memory and mass consumption through images of Niagara Falls spanning the US-Canada border. The book compiles thousands of photographic postcards collected by Leonard for the exhibition, presenting a visual typology of the complex relationship between reproduction techniques and landscape. These vintage postcards, issued from the early 1900s to the 1950s, are taxonomically arranged on a grid according to specific locations and perspectives. This repetition of imagery reveals the shift in the social meaning of Niagara Falls, from a symbol of "tourism and adventure" to one of "romance and honeymoon," suggesting the objectification of the landscape within consumer society. Through this typological accumulation of found objects, Leonard reconstructs the function of representation, offering a form of observational feminism that deconstructs perception through the accumulation of gazes.
(Source：artscape)