The exhibition ‘Are you a woman in authority?’ was a group of instillations that I found revolved around the themes of the experience of being a woman and mental health.

Experience

As I entered the exhibition on the left hand side of the entrance was a pile of paper with questions and tasks which viewers could use to help them engage with the exhibition which I thought was an inspiring idea. I didn’t feel the need to use them because I was taking notes for this blog so already had a means for processing the instillations, but I think that generally I would have found it helpful.

The instillations ranged from moving images on TV’s, to photographs and paintings, to live cameras within the exhibition that you can watch on a screen. I found the range of mediums to be more engaging and interesting which made it easier to appreciate the differences and question the reasons for choosing

My favourite of the instillations was the painting “Self portrait with cropped hair” by Sarah maple. This is unusual for me because I’m not usually drawn to portraits, or paintings of this style but I was impressed by the concept of making a self portrait image but using the face of another. The painting is a response to her violent desperation with her partner, using the face of Brittany Spears relating to her over publicised breakdown when she shaved her head.

Photograph taken by Maddy Ramsden of the painting “Self portrait with cropped hair” by Sarah maple

Knowledge 

The co-ordinator of the exhibition Kitty Bew spoke to us about the process of curating the exhibition which sounded more difficult than I’d originally thought it would be. She talked to us about the processes of getting images shipped over from other countries,  having to get particular wall fastenings for images of different weights and sizes and getting huge images printed especially for the exhibition. These are all things that I never considered would be the role of co-ordinator, it sounds like a stressful job!

She also talked about how she started off as a volunteer at phoenix art space which then allowed her to move onto getting paid work there too. She spoke about how volunteering is a great way to getting into working in galleries or in the arts world generally, as it builds contacts and shows that you are passionate about it.

Critical reflections

Being able to speak to the co-ordinator of an inspiring exhibition has been a valuable and has made working in the arts world seem more reachable. Volunteering in a gallery does sound quite boring but opens up opportunities.