Terrains of the Body

Interesting exhibition at the Whitechapel Gallery featuring photography from the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington DC.

The commentary defined the works chosen as by women and focusing on the female body looking at identity, experience and imagination. I found the works a bit of a mixed bag with some having such strange titles that it was hard to read the picture with that in mind but there were a number I really liked.

I liked Anna Gaskell’s picture of an upside down woman with lots of petticoats and her shoes sticking up. It made me ask lots of questions about what period it was set in, why was she upside down etc. I also liked Candita Hofer’s picture of a Venetian Palazzo using mirrors at the ends of the room to create an infinite series of views of the room with the photographer herself in the mirror.

My favourite picture was by Kirsten Justesen , a self-portrait of herself lying on the shelf of a wardrobe with objects around her on the other shelves. Since seeing this exhibition I’ve done another one at the National Portrait Gallery including work by Claude Cahun which included a similar picture. I wonder if Justesen had seem it?

Closed on 16 April 2017

Review
Evening Standard

 

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