Dwayne Morgan has a lot of poems that captivate me. As one of Canada's best-known spoken word artists, his repertoire is not only expansive, but well-known. One of his pieces that always resonates with the crowd is The Sum of Her Parts (you can listen to it on his MySpace), which is why I was extremely excited when he told me about his newest project.

The Sum of Her Parts (the exhibit) takes Dwayne's passion (and talent) for photography and his spoken word prowess and puts them together in an exhibit that explores the concepts of misogyny, beauty, and image. The exhibit features 25 photographs of women who volunteered to be a part of the project, focusing on the issues regarding the societal portrayal of female body image.

I was chatting with Dwayne a few days ago and asked him why he felt it was important for blogTO readers — and others in Toronto — should come out and support The Sum of Her Parts, and his answer breaks it all down quite nicely:

I believe that blogTO readers should come out and support this exhibit for a couple of reasons. First, the issues of beauty and body image are very important, especially when tackled from a sympathetic male perspective. Secondly, many think that spoken word is just what we see and hear on stage. Through this exhibit, I hope to show another form that spoken word can take.

He went on to explain his rationale behind the creation of the exhibit:

In the 15 years that I've been performing, The Sum of Her Parts, has resonated with audiences, more than anything else that I've written. I wanted to do more with it, and from that, the idea for this exhibit was born.

The Sum of Her Parts opens at The Small Gallery on March 1st, and ends with a closing reception on International Women's Day, March 8th. You can find more information at MyDaraLink.com or the Facebook event page.

Photo courtesy Dwayne Morgan.