Melissa Auf der Maur's AGO Exhibition Captures '90s Rock Chaos
AI-generated image · Bay Street Wire
The former Hole and Smashing Pumpkins bassist uses photography to document her transition from art student to rock star.
Melissa Auf der Maur, the Montreal-born bassist for Hole and Smashing Pumpkins, is showcasing her personal archive in a new exhibition at the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) titled *My ’90s Rock Photographs*.
According to CBC Toronto, the exhibition features over 200 objects and photographs that serve as a visual companion to Auf der Maur's recently released memoir, *Even the Good Girls Will Cry*. The collection documents the "unfiltered realities" of touring with two of the era's largest rock bands, featuring POV stage shots, raw self-portraits in green rooms and hotels, and an image of Courtney Love on a bike during the "Self-Destruct" Nine Inch Nails tour in 1994.
Auf der Maur described her rise to fame as an "absurd grunge Cinderella" story, noting that she initially declined to join Hole to pursue a master's in photography. Speaking with CBC Toronto, she explained that using her camera was a "protective measure" and a form of disassociation that allowed her to observe her own life from the outside during a period of "overwhelming sensory overload."
AGO curators Jim Shedden and Sophie Hackett noted that the images reveal Auf der Maur's "originality" and "fierceness" on stage. The exhibition coincides with the release of a photobook and a new album, *Bass Womb Room*, which contains field recordings and previously unreleased demos.