With Friends Like These...

The Charles H. Scott Gallery is pleased to present a solo exhibition of pastel drawings by Vancouver-based artist Karin Bubaš. A departure from the photographic work Bubaš is best known for, this exhibition presents a series of soft pastel portraits based on the cast of the hit MTV reality show The Hills. The female-centric drama focuses on the relationships between a group of friends living in Hollywood, the camera catching their conflicts and moments of vulnerability in a high production reality show format.

The arguments and break-ups of the cast have been viewed by millions. In her series of portraits Bubaš captures these moments of gasps, tears, and drawn-out stares that fans of the show are witness to. Encapsulating the universal appeal of reality television, Bubaš evokes these familiar moments; we all share Lauren’s frustration as she fights with Audrina and bursts into tears, her watery black mascara rolling down her cheeks. We experience aggravation over how Spencer treats Heidi and her frustrating complacency.  We are there when Stephanie is fired from her job and we experience dating someone that is unfaithful (Justin Bobby). These drawings conjure visions of our collective social experience.

In using soft chalk pastel as a medium Bubaš evokes the work of artists such as Paul César Helleu, famous for his portraits of fashionable society women in the Edwardian era, as well as Toulouse-Lautrec’s studies of Parisian performers. Though informal in nature Toulouse-Lautrec’s portraits, like those of Bubaš, depict individuals used to living their lives in the public eye.