The Gods descend on Granville Island

Last spring a friend of mine called me up and said, "I'm a Goddess". In addition to the fact that she typically has a larger-than-life presence, what she really meant was that she'd been asked by local artist Nicole Dextras to pose as Aphrodite-Goddess of Love, in a series of portraits of the great Greek deities.

Nicole Dextras has created 72 separate works celebrating the Gods and Goddesses of ancient Greece in her new show Myths which has it's Vancouver premiere tonight. The show consists of a series of elaborate portraits finely constructed by Nicole-the models are carefully posed with elaborate costumes and props against backdrops photographed in Greece, Turkey and Italy. The show merges theatre and costume design, art direction and photography.

In addition to the portraits, Nicole has also created a series of artist books on the deities, which she has produced in conjunction with writer Gary Michael Dault of the Globe and Mail. Nine books written in poetic prose have been handmade by the artist.

It's exciting to see this sort of collaboration in Vancouver between a visual artist and writers and performers-and I think this is a show well worth checking out. The opening reception is tonight, September 22nd from 7-10 at the Island Studio Gallery at 1551 Duranleau Street on Granville Island. In addition to the show, Firebelly productions will co-produce and perform the tale of Icarus-featuring dance, masks, and fire dancing with a live chorus. Now that's something you don't see every day.

Photographs courtesy of Nicole Dextras.