• Paper Mirrors is Latcham Art Centre’s latest exhibition, running until Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025.
  • The show features work by Michael Ciesielski, Ron Siu, and Anthea Black.
  • The artists use print media to explore queer identity, self-perception, and representation.
  • Ciesielski’s portraits utilize traditional woodcut techniques and comic imagery to highlight the subject’s drag persona.
  • Siu’s ink monoprints draws on Yaoi manga to reference queer Asian invisibility in Western culture.
  • Black’s abstract artist’s books challenge viewers to consider the varied, non-visible aspects of queer and trans experiences.

 

Paper Mirrors, the newest exhibition now on display at Latcham Art Centre, features the work of Michael Ciesielski, Ron Siu, and Anthea Black. Each artist uses printmaking in distinct ways to explore themes of queer representation and belonging.

The title and content of the exhibition reference the idea that a reflection reveals only what lies on the surface. The full reality of a person, including their identity and lived experiences, is complex and goes well beyond what can be seen at a glance.

“These artists’ works invert and subvert traditional gender norms and orientations,” Latcham Curator Jeff Nye states in the exhibition booklet. “The exhibition explores these artists’ deeply personal responses to subjects including drag culture, queer histories, and the role of mass media in manipulating the visibility and perception of 2SLGBTQI+ communities.”

Ciesielski’s large-format woodcut print portraits, which dominate the gallery space, feature individuals presented in their drag identities. The artist cleverly incorporates a comic or cartoon character into the image, which is meant to mirror aspects of the subject’s drag persona. Each set of portraits is juxtaposed with the hand-carved woodblocks used to create the final prints.

“These double portraits reveal the complex layering of identity, gender, and the spectrum of masculine and feminine characteristics that are part of drag and trans experience,” explains Nye. “Displaying the original carvings allows the viewers to see the literal mirroring between the block and the final print, introducing the theme of the exhibition: the connection between mirrors and self-perception.”

“Michael’s twinning of the print and the original carved woodblock explores the space between self-perception and external perceptions of queer bodies, a tension that can be heightened when one’s appearance does not conform to stereotypical gender norms,” Nye adds. “Michael considers the sense of isolation that can be felt because of that, but his work also expresses the relief and freedom that come from finding a welcoming community and safe places for self-expression.”

Ron Siu’s work echoes that sense of isolation in an almost intimate manner, and Nye describes how the artworks were shaped by the lack of queer Asian visibility in Western culture. Siu’s series of ink monotypes draws from Yaoi manga, a Japanese graphic novel genre focused on male romantic relationships, which remains one of the few sources of queer Asian storytelling accessible in North America.

Meanwhile, Anthea Black takes a more abstract approach. Her artist’s books depart from literal imagery and instead reflect the fluid and unseen dimensions of queer and trans lives. The books have no fixed orientation and can take on a range of forms, allowing the viewer to see them in multiple ways.

“Anthea Black’s artist’s books have evolved from her research into abstraction as a way of exploring queer and trans knowledge beyond identity and public visibility,” Nye details. “They are meticulously designed so that no ‘correct’ orientation exists… They become metaphors and embodiments of the invisible aspects of queer experience that transcend the body—opening onto a world of perceptions that the mirror cannot reflect.”

“Paper Mirrors presents a deeply felt grouping of work by artists who share a compassionate and inclusive approach to supporting and expanding their communities through print,” Nye concludes. “This exhibition provides opportunities to consider and appreciate the diversity of the 2SLGBTQI+ community and the role we all play in supporting it.”

The exhibition is on view until Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025. Latcham Art Centre is located at 2 Park Drive in Stouffville, and admission is free for all visitors.