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The lobby of Lincoln University’s International Cultural Center recently hosted a photographic art exhibition, “Through the Looking Glass,” which featured the work of both Assistant Professor Christina Kerns and Kyle Gordon.
Professor Kerns and Kyle Gordon at the opening night of “Through the Looking Glass” in the International Cultural Center| Staff photo/Terrance Young
Supported by a Lincoln University Andrew. W. Mellon Foundation grant, the exhibit’s theme referenced the skewed, shifting perspectives found in Lewis Carroll’s “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.”
Both Kerns and Gordon began to develop their work during this past summer, when they took photographs at such locations as the Philadelphia Zoo, the Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton, New jersey, and the Mercer Museum in Doylestown, Pennsylvania.
Professor Kerns and Kyle Gordon speaking with guest at the opening night in the International Cultural Center. | Staff photo/Terrell Wallace
Also inspired by the deep blacks, vibrant colors, distorted perspectives, and tight framing of the neo-noir films of the 1970s to 1990s, such as “Chinatown,” the two then manipulated their photographs. Gordon, a visual arts major from Chester, Pennsylvania, who is graduating this month, used digital software to superimpose his own self portraits over the environmental photographs. Kerns, the interim chair of the Visual and Performing Arts Department, used two-frame lenticular technology to give the sense that her images were moving as viewers shifted to the left or right.
“While our work is extremely different visually, our joint goal was to rationalize our internal selves with how people perceive us,” said Kerns.
Lincoln student signing guest book at the opening night in the International Cultural Center. | Staff photo/Terrell Wallace
Added D.M. Gaither-Hardy, an assistant professor in the Psychology and Human Services Department who taught Gordon in a general psychology class and attended the Nov. 19 exhibit opening: “Their exploration regarding the complications of internal and external perception was wonderful.”
The exhibit underscored one of Lincoln University’s five strategic plan themes: supporting research, creative, and innovative activities, including expanding faculty-student research and creative opportunities.