Davinia-Ann Robinson : PLASTICISED SENSATION

3 Sep-8 Sep 2019

Overview

PLASTICISED SENSATION is an installation exploring pleasure and the structures of power surrounding the erotic for women of colour. Davinia-Ann Robinson’s installation takes inspiration from writer Audre Lorde’s essay, ‘Uses of the Erotic: The Erotic is Power’ (1984), in which Lorde discusses the power of the erotic and how women have been ‘mis-sold’ what the erotic truly is. Lorde argues that the erotic has been misinterpreted as a fake ‘plasticised sensation’ that is overtly sexual, fake and holds no true room for women's real pleasure or power. In Robinson’s installation, flesh-coloured vessels containing varnish and the compound plasticiser ooze onto elastic bands, fake hair and the floor. Over time, the liquid dripping from Robinson’s sculpture transforms the work into the PLASTICISED SENSATION.