Alyce Haliday McQueen

In the second year of Alyce’s Artists in Public Schools residency, she centered her work on a collaborative project that explored the representation of students’ identities through objects. Female-identifying students from each grade were invited to bring personal items from home to contribute to the creation of a still-life composition. Each grade engaged in a collaborative process, collectively determining the arrangement of the objects to construct the final composition. Alyce worked closely with the students in selecting the final photograph that would serve as the representation of the female-identifying students in each grade at Ravenswood.

Entering the Artists in Public Schools residency, Alyce Haliday McQueen focuses on aligning her project with the aesthetics of her prior work, emphasizing feminine identity through portraiture and still-life. She plans to create portraits of female-identifying students from pre-kindergarten to eighth grade, challenging the conventional childlike portrayal by removing the expected “cute” factor. Alyce contemplates the intersection of serious expressions in children with concepts of maturity and the potential discomfort for viewers. Additionally, she explores still-life compositions with students’ belongings, aiming to highlight the significance of external possessions in shaping individual identity.

Throughout the residency, Alyce maintains a consistent working practice, drawing on her previous weeks’ exploration of ideas. Her commitment to capturing authentic portrayals while questioning societal norms surrounding children’s images underscores her dedication to unraveling the complexities of feminine identity and personal narratives through both portraiture and still-life.