The Friends of the Elaine Sprauve Library and Museum is inviting the public to celebrate the end of the 1990s with a re-viewing of an collection of collage portraits of Cruz Bay men made by St. John photographer Constance Wallace in 1993.
The dozen large photo-collages will be on exhibit in the library from Dec. 17 through the end of January. A re-opening reception will be held in conjunction with the Friends of the Library annual meeting at 5 p.m. on Dec. 17 in the library, located across from The Inn at Tamarind Court in Cruz Bay. The public is invited, and there's no admission charge.
"They're back!" Wallace says of the portraits, noting that they got a lot of attention six years ago when she first exhibited them. She has titled the show "The Colorful Men of Cruz Bay, St. John, 1993," subtitled "Appreciating Men's Fashion and Individuality," and further subtitled "Portraits of a Dozen of Our Friends Around Town."
Forget three-piece suits, however. The subject matter here consists of men who make their fashion statement as individuals, with little regard for others' ideas of style.
"So many people have asked me about these pieces since they were first shown that I decided to remake them and exhibit them again," Wallace said. "I love clothes and am always looking at how people present themselves. For many years, I have appreciated the colorful, imaginative outfits I see on some local men in Cruz Bay."
Wallace is the owner of The Clothing Studio, a boutique in Mongoose Junction that specializes in hand-painted fashions.
To create the photo-collages, she took various 5×7 color photographs she had taken of her chosen subjects and combined them into full-length portraits of the people depicted. "Raphael," for example, is decked out in gold, pumping gas at the Texaco station. "Creation" has his hands full of his bird feeders. "Shaka" imitates an iguana while working the grounds at Caneel Bay. "Abba" is in repose with his custom-made convertible pickup truck. "Irwin" plays guitar in the park, wearing wild sunglasses. "Desmond" appears in polka dots on the beach.
Wallace will be present at the reception to answer questions about her work. For more information, visit her website at www.OriginalPhoto.com/photosho.htm.
