Candice Breitz

South African artist Candice Breitz during presentation the show entitled Candice Breitz: You+I, in Kiev, on Thursday, February 10, 2011. With this exhibition the PinchukArtCentre for the first time brings together a series of major composite portraits, including iconic works such as Working Class Hero (A Portrait of John Lennon), King (A Portrait of Michael Jackson) and Queen (A Portrait of Madonna). Collectively these video portraits – along with the Monuments series (five large-scale photographic group portraits of communities of music fans) – take an intense look at the web of identifications that structures the relationship between stars and their fans. A new work that Breitz is producing especially for the PinchukArtCentre will evolve over the course of the exhibition. Tentatively titled Portrait of an Artist, it initiated an exchange of portraits between Breitz and Ukraine-based artists. All local artists and creative people have been invited to contribute a portrait of Breitz made in any style, medium or scale to a larger composite installation, and will ultimately receive a portrait of themselves back from Breitz to complete the exchange. All portraits of Breitz submitted by local artists will be exhibited at the PinchukArtCentre. During the first two months of the exhibition, newly submitted portraits will be added to the installation every week, gradually accumulating into a larger piece that Breitz has described as a self-portrait. Photo by Andrey Skakodub / UNIAN