Toronto-based photographer Genevieve Blais puts an erotic spin on Victorian-style portraiture with her subversive series “Art History.” By thrusting sexual fetishism and gender-bending into classically bland and prudish portraits of royalty, Blais creates a harrowing dissonance that critiques the antiquated social norms that still govern our society today. In the words of the artist herself:
Art History endeavors to seduce the viewer through its ostentatious aesthetic in order to address grotesque underlying themes such as sexuality, gender roles, taboo and the power dynamics situated therein. The aesthetic/topical dissonance aims to elicit an uneasy response in order to subvert the implicit authority and sanctity of the icon.
