The show was curated by Laura Castagnini around the idea of humour and wit in feminist art and included work by a number of Australian and international artists. Some of my favorite works were performative, such as Flowing Locks, 2007 by Hannah Raisin. In this video Hannah appears in a lycra suit that has had holes cut at the crotch and armpits. Through these holes protrude absurdly long hair extensions which dance in the breeze as she performs graceful balletic movements. It's a really funny work.
Besides; is it truly more absurd to attach long silky pube-xtensions than it is to meticulously rip out all your crotch hair with molten wax? I wonder what the market out there is like for pube-wigs? (aka merkins) And what if your pubes and armpit hairs really could grow that long of their own accord... ?
At any rate, I find it an interesting and funny image of womanhood. Hannah Raisin's art is always engaging and inspiring. I recommend looking at more of it here.
Another performance work I thought was great was Melons (At a Loss) 1998 by Patty Chang. In this work the artist slices through one cup of an oversized brassiere, revealing a now halved melon, which the artist has tied in front of her body as a surrogate breast. She then gradually scoops out the melon with her hand and piles the seeds onto a plate balanced on her head. Eating the melon’s flesh, she tells the story of a relative of hers who died of breast cancer.
Another performance work I thought was great was Melons (At a Loss) 1998 by Patty Chang. In this work the artist slices through one cup of an oversized brassiere, revealing a now halved melon, which the artist has tied in front of her body as a surrogate breast. She then gradually scoops out the melon with her hand and piles the seeds onto a plate balanced on her head. Eating the melon’s flesh, she tells the story of a relative of hers who died of breast cancer.
Friendship Is.. an installation work by Melbourne duo Nat&Ali was very dynamic, kitsch and beautiful. A pond was installed in the space surrounded by white pebbles, Coolabah wine boxes and plastic plants, with two white rope swings overhanging the water. During the evening two young girls in matching pink t-shirts and blue jeans swung on the swings together creating a picture-perfect moment of girlhood friendship...... although actually there was something a bit too perfect about it... Anyway, I liked the installation. I also enjoyed the way audience members interacted with it during the night.
A new series by Catherine Bell entitled Mum's the Word, 2011 was also very compelling. The large scale photographs shot by Bell during a residency in New York, show black nannies caring for white babies, in public spaces around Manhattan. The artwork interested me in that it highlights issues of class and race in relation to childcare labour (which is viewed by many as mundane, unskilled work).
"Because these women aren't the mothers, we don't feel the perdurable warmth of the archetypal bond. Instead we're witnessing an employment arrangement, where nannies are appointed from a less prosperous class to perform the love-work that the parents cannot always supply because of work-work."
-Robert Nelson review
It made me wonder about the way that women are expected to naturally excel in the role of motherhood, to have some degree of intuitive knowledge about caring for children and nurturing others in general. It seems like there is a notion that being a nanny is a job that really only a woman could perform. Though social views on motherhood have shifted since the 1950s, women who put children up for adoption, who suffer from post-natal depression, or who struggle to show love or affection for their kids are generally viewed as anomalous, mean-spirited and strange.
Such an interesting collection of art...
On until May 25th 2013
Margaret Lawrence Gallery
Victorian College of the Arts
40 Dodds Street, Southbank 3006
VIC
