Catalogue Spotlight: October 2026
Costume & Catharsis
Hello VP Website and Newsletter readers,
For this All Hallows’ Eve edition of the catalogue spotlight I’ve decided to focus on the theme of costuming throughout the catalogue.Â
Traditionally, costumes were worn on Halloween (aka Samhain, All Hallow’s Eve, and All Saint’s Eve) to ward off spirits, due to the veil between ours and the next being especially thin. Halloween costumes are a vehicle for expression and play, as much they are an opportunity for us to process, and even become, what we fear most.Â
These four works use costume in a variety of ways, allowing their creators an equal chance for playful catharsis. May you have a very bewitched Halloween season,
- Jo Reimer, Collections and Distribution Assistant
(opens in new tThrough the Looking Glass by Theo Jean Cuthand, 1999
Half-breed Alice attempts to become queen and struggles with the Red Queen and the White Queen's disapproval of her racial transgressions.Â
A funny and quirky take on race, this piece stars Cosmosquaw as the Red Queen, Shawna Dempsey as the White Queen, and Thirza Cuthand as Alice.
Super by Shawna Dempsey and Lorri Millan, 2009
What would a feminist superhero look like? Could she leap tall buildings in a single bound? Could she bend steel with her bare hands? What would her name be? And would anyone remember it? Commissioned by MAWA's Art Building Community Symposium, performance artists Shawna Dempsey and Lorri Millan have created an aging superhero with unusual powers. Watch as she wrestles the notion of "super" to the ground! In light of reality TV and celebrity culture, where everyone who wants to be a superstar can be, does "super" still exist at all? The work features a spandex-clad hero and astonishing feats of bravery.
"Six" recreates dramatic shots and actions from six classic and “B” movies recreated, acted and produced in a 3 foot by 3 foot closet by the artist. "Six" replaces the movie industry’s elaborate sense of artifice with a concentration on the emotional drives behind each scene. The characters portrayed all display dual and split personalities. What a feat of double displacement for the actress whose work already requires identifying with and consuming a constantly shifting series of subjects.
Don Juan Envy by Lori Weidenhammer, 1996
A woman daydreams in the Winnipeg winter, and discovers the Don Juan within. Don Juan, as a woman, gives us glimpses of her life with a collection of cross-dressers, unlikely saints and martyrs. We meet the Cappuccino Nun, the Nun of Naverone, and the Saint of Cactus Lake. Along with these debauched and sacred characters, Don Juan becomes a martyr for women’s pleasure. Actors in this video are Shawna Dempsey, Lorri Millan, Rebecca Popoff, Erika MacPherson and Lori Weidenhammer.
If you're interested in inquiring about bringing your work into our catalogue please contact madeline@videopool.org