The Whale, an Examination of Fat Bias by Canadian Artist Zoë Schneider, Opens at Pittsburgh’s Bunker Projects on Nov. 1

Pittsburgh, PA – Oct. 23, 2024 – Bunker Projects, a nonprofit gallery and artist residency in Pittsburgh’s Bloomfield-Garfield neighborhood, is pleased to announce the opening of Canadian artist Zoë Schneider’s first American exhibit, The Whale, on Friday, Nov. 1. An opening reception will be held on Oct. 31 from 6:30-7:15 p.m.

Curated by artist and writer Anna Mirzayan, The Whale—which takes its title from Darren Aronofsky’s 2022 film of the same name—examines the role of fatphobia in culture while also communicating fat people’s frustration that these biases continue to exist. With The Whale, Schneider manipulates and repositions items like fat suits, fat horror masks and inflatable prosthetic bellies to expose their implicit bigotry. 

“Within popular culture, fatness is often situated as either tragic or comedic,” says Schneider. “But when we step outside of those roles we face consequences designed to shut down our aspirational goals to live full human lives. We see the injustices, we refuse to participate, and we demand better.”

“Who’s afraid of the fat body? Schneider’s jarring installations of Halloween costume fat-suits for non-fat bodies build on work like Rachel Herrick’s Obeast,” says Mirzayan. “Like Herrick, Schneider plays off existing tropes of fat bodies as animalistic or monstrous. As a fat curator working with a fat artist, I’ve had the enormous pleasure of working with Schneider to pose the uncomfortable question: Why are our bodies the subject of so much fear?”

“Zoe Schneider’s The Whale reels you in with the visually stunning, playful allure of a circus or the eerie charm of a haunted house,” Rommelt adds. “But it comes at cost-—an unflinching exposure of the internalized fatphobia that persists in our culture even today.”

In addition to the exhibit, which will run through Dec. 20 at Bunker Projects’ Penn Avenue gallery, Schneider will attend The Whale’s opening reception and participate in an artist Q&A with Mirzayan. 

 For more information, visit bunkerprojects.org. Images of the artist and her work can be found here.

ABOUT ZOË SCHNEIDER

Zoë Schneider (she/her) works in sculpture, video, and installation to critically examine the complexity of fat identity. Schneider holds an MFA from the University of Saskatchewan (2018), and a BFA from the Alberta University of the Arts (2009). In Canada, Schneider has exhibited solo and group exhibitions in Regina, Saskatoon, Estevan, Guelph, Mississauga, Lethbridge, and internationally in Denmark, Germany, and the United States. She is the 2021 recipient of the Visual Award for Female Artist, Jane Turnbull Evans Fund from the Saskatchewan Foundation for the Arts, and has received multiple artist grants from SK Arts and the Canada Council for the Arts. Schneider lives and works in Regina, Treaty 4 Territory, Saskatchewan, Canada.

ABOUT BUNKER PROJECTS 

Bunker Projects is a nonprofit artist residency and experimental gallery in Pittsburgh, PA that serves as a platform for emerging artists to develop their practice and create new works for exhibition. By blending the production, exhibition and interpretation of art we center the work of local and visiting artists. Bunker provides a unique environment for artists to advance their careers and build community. Equity and sustainability are core beliefs, as we work to uplift people from diverse backgrounds in the arts.​ Gallery hours are Thursdays from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 2 p.m. For more information, visit bunkerprojects.org.