Cindy Sherman's multiple roles on show at Louis Vuitton

It’s a Hollywood star. It’s a man. It’s a medieval monk. It’s a clown. The multifaceted figures depicted in Cindy Sherman’s cinematic photographs seem like they each have a story to tell. But here’s the catch: They are all the same person. It’s...

From left, Cindy Sherman portrayed herself as a medieval monk, a man and a clown. [FONDATION LOUIS VUITTON PARIS, CINDY SHERMAN, METRO PICTURES]

It’s a Hollywood star. It’s a man. It’s a medieval monk. It’s a clown. The multifaceted figures depicted in Cindy Sherman’s cinematic photographs seem like they each have a story to tell. But here’s the catch: They are all the same person. It’s Sherman herself.

The American artist’s works are centered on photographic self-portraits in which she undergoes metamorphic transformations to act out particular scenes and characters, but she doesn’t consider them self-portraits. Rather, she emphasizes portraying a wide range of individuals.

The Espace Louis Vuitton Seoul in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, is exhibiting selected Sherman works from the Fondation Louis Vuitton’s art collection, which kicked off Friday. Titled “On Stage – Part II,” the works were initially exhibited at the Espace Louis Vuitton Beijing and Seoul is the second stop.

For Sherman, putting on a completely different identity is one thing she has enjoyed ever since she was little. Described as a “quest for her identity” by the Fondation, the 10 photographs on display play with gender stereotypes, lookism or are simply a witty parody.

These four photographs by Cindy Sherman feature her as Hollywood actors [FONDATION LOUIS VUITTON PARIS, CINDY SHERMAN, METRO PICTURES]

Even if she is portraying the same Hollywood female actor in two separate photographs, one can be illustrated with bright hues to elicit a feminine daintiness, but another could be darker and feature smoking a lighted cigarette for a bolder, femme fatale-like impression.

Sherman’s career has also taken off in the fashion scene, with her photographs included in magazines like Harper’s Bazaar or brands like Prada, Comme des Garcons and Marc Jacobs for the past five decades. Ironically, she would create works that attempt to deviate from conventional body images, yet they are in high demand in the very industry that produces such conformities.

In her photography series “Men” (2019), Sherman embodies androgynous characters as seen in “Untitled #602.” She is shown wearing a Stella McCartney overcoat and a T-shirt printed with a previous image of herself from the 1980s in which she was a Hitchcockian blonde heroine.

Espace Louis Vuitton explained this as an inference that Sherman’s male persona could also someday become part of the endless repetition of her many roles in the future.

″Untitled #411,″ as part of Cindy Sherman's ″Clowns″ (2003) series [FONDATION LOUIS VUITTON PARIS, CINDY SHERMAN, METRO PICTURES]

Sherman even dresses up as flamboyant clowns in her “Clowns” (2003) series, and although their facial expressions are distinctively happy, depressed or even grotesque, it’s ultimately impossible to name the exact situation each character is in. This goes beyond “Clowns” to every single one of Sherman’s photographs.

“On Stage – Part II” continues until Sept. 17. The Espace Louis Vuitton Seoul is open every day from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. Admission is free.

BY SHIN MIN-HEE [shin.minhee@joongang.co.kr]