ALTOLOGY - series - The Unbecoming, Gallery 10, Ballarat, 2024.
ALTOLOGY was a group exhibition composed of collections or series set side by side in one space by artists Daria Betley, Terrence A Doran, Ian Kemp, Gordon Monro, Peter Rechenberg, Takahiko Sugawara, Tiffany Titshall, and Amanda Western. Curated by Linda Franklin at Gallery 10, Ballarat, Victoria.
My series title 'The Unbecoming' was prompted by observing how the word unbecoming has been used to impose shame on women. I wanted to subvert the term by inserting 'The' before the word to add the suggestion that some miraculous event is about to arrive. The female in the images is steering and owning various symbols that have existed throughout history via a sort of stations of the cross, reflecting a spirit of reparation to the sufferings and insults of WOMEN ‘during the passion.’
It has drama but also cheek. Darkness but also bright light.
I was invited to show the work when these unfinished thoughts were bubbling away in my studio, then chose to exhibit without putting a full stop on the series, or the concept.
I was also interested in, and playing with imagery around the concept of objectophilia as a way of looking at the object of desire and understanding consent.
Queer or personal choice was at the forefront and this quote resonated:
From the book: This Dark Country - Women Artists, Still Life and Intimacy in the Early Twentieth Century. by Rebecca Birrel.
"To be freer in their expressions of desire, to make less of the gravity of sex, these concerns acknowledge how attitudes to sex were (and remain) closely interweaved with misogyny and homophobia: how those with the most power over the meaning of sex were the conservative institutions of religion, family and law. Transforming how they spoke about sex, even within their small social circle, was a way of challenging broader oppressive ideologies. Each conversation constituted a nick in the edifice of normativity: with enough effort it might shatter entirely."
This series is about deciding what we want for ourselves, and 'the unbecoming' is partly about saying we cannot be shamed by others, i.e. that sexual shame is an imposed construct.
The process of creating these images includes layers of blue inks under a very particular blue pastel creating part Cyanotype effect, part velvet appearance, and cannot be perfectly represented in professional photos or prints as it changes in different light.
My series title 'The Unbecoming' was prompted by observing how the word unbecoming has been used to impose shame on women. I wanted to subvert the term by inserting 'The' before the word to add the suggestion that some miraculous event is about to arrive. The female in the images is steering and owning various symbols that have existed throughout history via a sort of stations of the cross, reflecting a spirit of reparation to the sufferings and insults of WOMEN ‘during the passion.’
It has drama but also cheek. Darkness but also bright light.
I was invited to show the work when these unfinished thoughts were bubbling away in my studio, then chose to exhibit without putting a full stop on the series, or the concept.
I was also interested in, and playing with imagery around the concept of objectophilia as a way of looking at the object of desire and understanding consent.
Queer or personal choice was at the forefront and this quote resonated:
From the book: This Dark Country - Women Artists, Still Life and Intimacy in the Early Twentieth Century. by Rebecca Birrel.
"To be freer in their expressions of desire, to make less of the gravity of sex, these concerns acknowledge how attitudes to sex were (and remain) closely interweaved with misogyny and homophobia: how those with the most power over the meaning of sex were the conservative institutions of religion, family and law. Transforming how they spoke about sex, even within their small social circle, was a way of challenging broader oppressive ideologies. Each conversation constituted a nick in the edifice of normativity: with enough effort it might shatter entirely."
This series is about deciding what we want for ourselves, and 'the unbecoming' is partly about saying we cannot be shamed by others, i.e. that sexual shame is an imposed construct.
The process of creating these images includes layers of blue inks under a very particular blue pastel creating part Cyanotype effect, part velvet appearance, and cannot be perfectly represented in professional photos or prints as it changes in different light.
Throne, 2022
acrylic, ink, and pastel on paper 76 x 56 cm (unframed) |
Seen Through, 2022
acrylic, ink, and pastel on paper 76 x 56 cm (unframed) |
Crucifixion, 2022
acrylic, ink, and pastel on paper 76 x 56 cm (unframed) |
Take Your Turn, 2022
acrylic, ink, and pastel on paper 38 x 28.5 cm (unframed) |
Your'e Welcome, 2022
acrylic, ink, and pastel on paper 38 x 28.5cm cm (unframed) private collection |
Install:
Series of small works on table:
Sun; Diamond; Eye; Snake; Tree of Life; Crescent
paper on primed cradled ply board
25 x 20 cm
Blue work called Objectophilia
56.5 x 38 cm unframed
Wall:
Middle top: Snake Brand
Middle: And Men in Bed with Love and Fear (from The Mouth of the Beast, 2016.)
On plinths a series of plates and bowls made in a partner collaboration with Belinda Michael.
An added series of snakes were shown whilst the exhibition was in progress.
Below: All are a series in ink & charcoal on paper on board 25 x 20 cm
Series of small works on table:
Sun; Diamond; Eye; Snake; Tree of Life; Crescent
paper on primed cradled ply board
25 x 20 cm
Blue work called Objectophilia
56.5 x 38 cm unframed
Wall:
Middle top: Snake Brand
Middle: And Men in Bed with Love and Fear (from The Mouth of the Beast, 2016.)
On plinths a series of plates and bowls made in a partner collaboration with Belinda Michael.
An added series of snakes were shown whilst the exhibition was in progress.
Below: All are a series in ink & charcoal on paper on board 25 x 20 cm
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Install photographs by Gallery 10
Also included here are four works that were sold but not professionally documented first: snake; crescent; sun; snake.
www.facebook.com/reel/960730979272055 footage at Gallery 10