The Museum is proud to present Barbara Astman’s exhibition/installation Dancing with Che: Enter through the Gift Shop, which opens with a talk by the artist this Thursday February 16 at 6 pm.

Here, Astman explores the vulgarization and trivialization of iconic revolutionary Che Guevara and examines our consumer attitudes. All visitors to the Museum will enter by walking through the exhibition, a well stocked gift shop of Che souvenirs where nothing is for sale.

Astman created her original Dancing with Che series in 2003, after a trip to Cuba where she was struck by “Che chic,” the proliferation of imagery of the face of revolutionary Che Guevara on a range of souvenirs.

“I kept thinking about Che as a Pop culture icon,” said Astman, “and got beyond his being the revolutionary leader because when you see him on people’s chests and on coffee mugs, it’s almost like seeing Mick Jagger…becoming more of a consumer product.”

Her own photographs were created by shooting images of herself dancing to Latin music while wearing a Che T-shirt. These black-and-white images were then plastered onto mugs, tote bags, key-chains, playing cards and the like—merchandise for display, but not for purchase.

Barbara Astman’s exhibition at McMaster runs February 16 – May 5, 2012.

Barbara Astman’s career has spanned more than 35 years of photo-based media, sculpture-objects and public art commissions. Beginning with her earliest photo-self portraiture and narratives, Astman’s work is contemporaneous with and rightfully belongs with a formative generation of foundational feminist art practices in Canada and internationally. She has exhibited in more than 45 solo exhibitions since 1973, as well as in group exhibitions. A twenty-year survey of her work was organized and toured by the Art Gallery of Hamilton in 1995 – 1996. Her work is represented in major public collections in Canada and internationally. She is represented by the Corkin Gallery, Toronto.