Pure Virtue

Oct 23, 1984
Field:

Performance

 Location:

Grand Luxe Hall, Western Front

 Time:

9:00 p.m.

Description:

While in residence at Western Front, Tanya Mars developed Pure Virtue as part of a series of multimedia performances interrogating historical images of women in power. For this piece, Mars performed as a caricature of Queen Elizabeth I, using the performance to interrogate history’s obsession with her virginity. 

Wearing a corseted dress made of curtain fabric and lace trim sprayed gold, Mars performed alongside slides and video, with music that ranged from Elizabethan instrumentals to songs by female rockstars. The performance explored themes of sex, seduction, and temptation, drawing connections from the Garden of Eden to the enduring cultural fascination with female purity and power.

Western Front is a non-profit artist-run centre in Vancouver.

We acknowledge the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓ílwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations as traditional owners of the land upon which Western Front stands.

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