Ann-Marie Stillion’s poetic rebellion marches on

Join us May 18, 2025, at CORE Gallery 117 Prefontaine Pl S, Seattle, WA 98104, 2 – 4 p.m. for a free artist reception with Ann-Marie Stillion and Lynne Conrad Marvet in an empowering conversation on WHY CREATIVITY MATTERS TO US AND THE WORLD between the artists and Valerie Manusov, UW Professor of Communication and advocate for women’s retreats, creative expression and empowerment. Light refreshments. Free Sunday parking on the street downtown. Everyone is invited.

Exhibit runs April 30 – May 31. Regular gallery hours: noon to 6 pm, Wed – Sun.

ARTIST STATEMENT
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“Revising history is one of the hallmarks of a dictatorship.” – M H
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I can see that as a woman, I was never really in the timeline of history, perhaps tangentially, but nothing more. I can help, give birth, play with lovely things, cook, and clean. But I was never meant to lead or rule or be anything significant due to my gender. The recent move by the Trump administration to eliminate the words “women” and “female” in its writings makes this clear.
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Simply taking charge of the male body, as I do when I photograph men, has been very satisfying.
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My work puts something in the world that wasn’t there before. I don’t render men as real. They are projections of a world I would prefer to live in.
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One of the works in the upcoming exhibit, “DON’T LOOK,” uses a photograph I made years ago at Eagle Falls. It was a gorgeous setting, and I recalled the photographer Edward Weston in its original title. When I posted it on social media, it was censored immediately. Placing words over the man’s genitals made it acceptable when I reposted it later.
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Women’s bodies are shared in every imaginable way, but return the favor, and you will find out immediately that men don’t want to be seen, and everyone has an objection of some kind. So I have continued. – ams