Self-portraits and themes of self-image are explored in the latest feature exhibits at Surrey Art Gallery.

Mirror Mirror, the Arts Council of Surrey's juried exhibition of self-portraits, opened Aug. 18 and continues until Dec. 16.

Running concurrently at the gallery is Scenes of Selves, Occasions for Ruses, a group exhibit that includes works by 10 artists in a wide variety of media. The drawings, photographs, video, paintings and other works take into consideration the era of status updates, photosharing websites and profile pictures.

The exhibit-opening event Saturday, Sept. 15 includes a talk with Carol Sawyer, at 6: 30 p.m. Her project, "Some Documents From the Life of Natalie Brettschneider," employs photos and music recitals to reconstruct the life of a fictional performance artist.

"She's totally made up as a vehicle to talk about a bunch of different things," Sawyer told the Now. "It's sort of like an episodic novel.- She's kind of my double, my alter ego."

The fictional Brettschneider was raised in British Columbia before she left for Paris in the 1920s and 1930s. She later spent time in Surrey, and "photographs" of her during this time were inspired by Sawyer's research trips to Surrey Archives.

Also opening Saturday is Echoes of the Artist, a collection of works from Surrey Art Gallery's permanent collection.

Five works were given special recognition in Mirror Mirror, including those by White Rock's Elizabeth Hollick (first place), Surrey's Lisa Chen (second) and Langley-based Gregory Dawe (third). Honourable mentions went to Thorsten Gohl of White Rock, and Hanif Janmohamend of Roberts Creek.

Twitter @tomzillich