When Iris Hauser started painting portraits, she didn’t expect they would spiral out into a study of gender roles and expression.
The prolific artist from Saskatoon usually works with narrative art, filling her paintings with multiple characters in situations and stories that interest her. But that changed when she met Mickey.
Michael has been Hauser’s model and friend for years, posing for several paintings. One day, Michael changed their name to Mickey and came out as transgender.
“I always cast [Mickey] as a conflicted person [in my paintings], someone torn with himself,” Hauser said.
Mickey’s story made Hauser think about people’s personal, self-made narratives. Hauser painted a portrait of Mickey in 2012 and called it “The Changeling.” Hauser enjoyed it so much she continued making portraits for the next few years.
Hauser found a theme of gender presentation that kept coming through in her portraits. She leaned into the concept, studying how masculinity and femininity intertwine.
“It ended up being about gender, although I had no idea it was going to be about it,” she said.
Hauser’s collection of portraits, called “Dress Codes,” is on display in the Godfrey Dean Art Gallery until Feb. 28. It toured through Regina and Prince Albert before arriving in Yorkton. Hauser tweaked the gallery along the way, adding and subtracting certain portraits.
“I kept working on it,” she said. “It always looks like a new show to me.”
Hauser attended a reception for her gallery at the Godfrey Dean on Sunday, fielding questions about her choices and influences. She enjoyed sharing her work with the public.
“A show like this gives you a sense of completion of an idea,” she said.
Hauser is working on another gallery, which will debut in April in Prince Albert. It will focus on literary narratives, such as the Bible and Alice in Wonderland.
“Some of [the paintings] might have seven or eight people,” she said. “They’re big works.”
Hauser is working on bringing “Dress Codes” to Dawson, B.C., once the Yorkton gallery wraps up.
After her years of exploring gender through portraits, Hauser is still drawn to “The Changling,” the painting that started her journey.
“I think it has a lot of power, partly because of that story of change,” she said. “It has a lot of depth and resonance.”
