Trickster Girls: Disruptive Surveillance

7 Sep-5 Oct 2024

PV 6 Sep 2024, 6-8pm

The Intersection, 2022, Oil on canvas. Credit: Wendy Elia

Overview

Curated by Rebecca Scott and Stella Whalley.

Rebecca Scott observes representations of women in Vogue Magazines which pedal an idealized notion of the female. The clothing, the fashion, the make-up, the look and the life style, are all represented in the magazine. Her response is using the language of painting through the lens of Richter and Polke, Fischl and Morley by defacing the copy and directly scribbling onto the detailed paintings of the magazine pages. For example, ‘Vogue Capriccio After Marlene Dumas’, takes the pose of the fashion model and invites the reading of the provocateur as the model teases the viewer.

Stella Whalley also references the forced poses of fashion models and early erotic poses women were uncomfortably subjected to by their male directors. In a series of watercolours that blend figurative and abstract elements creating a fluid interplay between the subjects and their imagined environments. This performativity invites viewers to question the authenticity and intent behind these images, prompting a deeper reflection on the nature of the gaze and the power dynamics it perpetuates.

Wendy Elia’s paintings delves into complex themes of oppression, surveillance, and the reinterpretation of historical narratives through contemporary lenses. The setting is described as an oppressive architectural environment reminiscent of Piranesi’s brutal architecture, creating a sense of entrapment and constant surveillance via cameras and drones. This backdrop serves to amplify the tension experienced by the two female protagonists, echoing the themes of Judith and her maidservant from Artemisia Gentileschi’s works.

These three painters are reusing the language to tell a different story, which still needs to be told.

Wendy Elia is a British figurative painter of Anglo/ Greek Cypriot descent: Academician at RWA (Royal West of England Academy), finalist in a number of national and international competitions including the National Portrait Gallery JPPA and BP Portrait Awards (4 times), Sovereign European Painting Prize (public vote winner), Ruth Borchard Self Portrait prize and many others. She was also the recipient of a grant from the Pollock-Krasner Foundation in NYC and part of the UK Cultural Olympics. Her work is held in many public and private collections both in Britain and Internationally She trained at St. Martins. 

Rebecca Scott, born in Cumbria, gained a BA in Fine Art from Chelsea School of Art, and an MA in Fine Art from Goldsmiths, London. Scott has work in private and public collections nationally and internationally, and has exhibited in London, Cumbria, Spain, France, Germany, Sweden, and Norway. In 2019, she was a finalist for Cumbria Life’s Visual Artist of the Year award. She currently lives and works between London and Cumbria, and is Co-Founder and Director of Cross Lane Projects, an independent art space and Gallery in both Kendal and London.

Stella Whalley works in London, her background was postgraduate printmaking at Central St Martins and then worked professionally as an intaglio plate-maker and printer at various print studios. Whalley gained national and international exposure of her multi-disciplinary artistic practice, delivering talks in public galleries and museums, including exhibitions at EMPIRE 11 at the 57th Venice Biennale 2017, at the Nakanojo Biennale Japan 2015, the Wilson Gallery Cheltenham 2014, the Victoria & Albert Museum London 2002, Birmingham City Art Gallery, and a book launch of ‘Tokyo Tales’ at the Whitechapel Gallery 2007. Funded International residencies and exhibitions in Japan and Italy. Whalley extensive teaching career has included Camberwell Collage of Art, Royal College of Art and developed an MA Printmaking course at the London Print studios with Buckinghamshire New University.

Press

Trickster Girls: Disruptive Surveillance press release
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