Feb. 17 - Mar. 19, 2005
Opening reception, Thurs., Feb. 17, 6-8pm

"Poo-Chi (Ozashiki Porn)" 1999/2004 C-Print

"Final Address" (Interior I), 2002, C-print

M.Y. ART PROSPECTS' new exhibition, "Poo-Chi," introduces works by Chicago-based artist Mayumi Lake. Her photographic images reveal undeniable and uncontrolled desires in sexuality and fantasy, while creating an ambience somewhere between pleasure and danger, comfort and pain.

"Poo-Chi" is a word coined by the artist for a particular part of the adult body that she transforms into something provocative. The Poo-Chi series (1999/2004) visualizes a variety of fetish fantasies of young girls' bodies in a fashion-shoot format. Lake changes models and settings according to theme, class, and ethnicity. She pays attention to every detail of the models' skin, hair, and choice of girlish clothes—it is not only the suggestion of pubic hair but each fabric's texture, color, and pattern that lure the eye. Her pursuit of cuteness or kitsch serves to amplify the erotic tone. Only through closer and careful inspection, does the viewer reach a realization that all he or she sees is an illusion.

Lake's most recent series, "Final Address" (2004), is a collection of images of funeral homes in Chicago. Lake understands that funeral homes in America welcome every citizen, including immigrants of many different cultures and religions, and therefore represent themselves as an 'American Dream' of abundant wealth and luxury. Their overwhelming architecture, old-fashioned furniture, and gorgeous flower arrangements remind one of the movie sets of the 1950s and 1960s.

Mayumi Lake studied photography at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where she earned a BFA (1997) and an MFA (2000). She also studied at the Rhode Island School of Design (1997-98) and Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture (2003). Lake is a recipient of the Bruce Goodman Memorial Fellowship and Skowhegan Fellowship. Since 1997 Lake's work has been exhibited by a number of prominent art institutions in Chicago and other locales, including MIT List Visual Arts Center, Cambridge ("Mirror Images: Women, Surrealism and Self-Representation"), the Institute of Contemporary Art, London ("Uncut Special Edition"), Fotografie Forum International, Frankfurt ("Relating to Photography"), and Art In General, New York ("Re:Source"). She has also had two solo exhibitions at Gallery O, Tokyo in 2000 and 2001. In 2002, the "Poo-Chi" series was published as a monograph by Nazraeli Press, and the book was awarded 2002 Photo-eye Award in Best Nude/Figure Study. Her work has also been published in numerous exhibition catalogs as well as European Photography, NY Arts, Rhizomes.net, n.paradoxa, and F Newsmagazine.

For further information and/or photographic materials, please contact: tel. 212 268 7132 / e-mail MYartpro@aol.com

Small Exhibition Series Vol. 4
Feb. 17 ­ Mar. 19. 2005

Carolyn Swiszcz plays with patterns, colors, and texts intended for commerce and utility. Swiszcz transforms mundane elements of everyday life into backdrops for real and imagined dramas. Designs used by small business enterprises-shops and restaurants-are particularly endearing to the artist as they try and get people to spend money. Her work seems effortless but is actually labor-intensive in terms of combining painting, drawing, and printmaking techniques. It is not only the subject matters but also the quality of her work that engages her viewers.

Born 1972 in New Bedford, MA, Carolyn Swiszcz earned BFA at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design in 1994. Currently she lives and works in St. Paul, MN. Her first New York solo exhibition (December 2003) was held at M.Y. Art Prospects.