Two Faced. Three Faced. Four Faced. Five.

Lydia Art Salon (formerly Lydia Street Gallery) presents “Two Faced. Three Faced. Four Faced. Five.” Billie Clarke, Samir Faris, Karim B. Hamid, Monika Hardy, William P.

Immer April 3-May 17, 2026

Opening reception: Thursday, April 3rd, 6-9 pm

two faced. three faced. four faced. five.
“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other word would smell as sweet.
So Romeo would, were he not Romeo called,
Retain that dear perfection which he owes
Without that title. Romeo, doff thy name,
And, for thy name, which is no part of thee,
Take all myself.” William Shakespeare / Romeo & Juliet, Act 2, scene 2 / circa 1595

In the famous Shakespearean play ‘Romeo & Juliet’, Juliet is not allowed to associate with Romeo because he is a Montague. If he had any other name it would be fine. But, he doesn’t. She’s complaining that his name is meaningless. If the rose had any other name it would still be the same. So with Romeo; he would still be the same beautiful young man even if he had a different name. So, as Juliet says: What IS in a name? Why is it so important to have a name? What do we associate with a name? Name’s are commonly known as associators. They are a way in which we, as humans, can define someone as other. Therefore, we can determine a lot through a name. Of course, we can associate it. But, we can also control an identity to a certain extent. We can limit. We can arrange our thoughts and actions. We can also restrict ourselves. Why is it so important that we limit ourselves to a single name or identity? What is it about us that we allow ourselves to restrict ourselves to one identity?