“Under this mask, another mask. I will never be finished removing all these faces.” . Claude Cahun Cahun and Wearing by Gillian Wearing, 2017. (Image from ArtJobs.Com) “Behind the mask, Another mask”, curated by Gillian Wearing for the National Portrait Gallery, Wearing places her work alongside Cahun’s in a comparative (or parasitic - depending on your perspective) manner. The first image you’re faced with is a large print of a well known self portrait of Claude Cahun- only there’s something “off” about it. The eyes seem too bagged, too sunken, and the quality of the image disconcertingly digital- and then you notice the mask in her hand. Isn’t that Gillian Wearing’s face? That’s when the discomfort sets in. . Comparison: Me as Cahun holding a mask of my face, by Gillian Wearing, 2012. (Image from the National Portrait Gallery) I Am In Training Don’t Kiss Me by Claude Cahun. (Image from the Guardian)
My animation of Orlan: Strip-tease occasionnel avec les draps du trousseau, 1974-1975 The Feminist Avant-Garde of the 1970s show comprised two floors of powerful and exciting images and films. The works have strong relevance for today’s cultural climate because, although these works were made forty odd years ago, women are still struggling with equal representation within both the ‘real’ world and the art world. Within the past two years, the battle for equal rights has invariably begun to regress with the rise of right-wing politics and the re-establishment of white patriarchal systems of control. This show represents more than a simple retrospective - the works on display are a reminder of the diversity of thought and vision within women’s artistic narratives and also demonstrate methods for creatively resisting patriarchal violence. VALIE EXPORT: Aktionshose: Genitalpanik, 1969 (Bild: VBK, Wien 2010) One unifying feature of the show was the intimate size