Terrains of the Body
Various Artists
Whitechapel Gallery
18 JANUARY - 16 APRIL 2017
Free
Terrains of the Body is a collection of photographs from the National Museum of Women in the Arts, the only one of its kind, based in Washington D.C. Each work is by a different female artist and there are 17 in total. The exhibition displays the female body as a platform for self-expression, storytelling and most importantly seeks to regain control over this construct.
Whitechapel Gallery is lovely, I had been meaning to visit it for quite a while as I had never been before. It's big enough to have 5 exhibitions on display but small enough to work your way around within a couple of hours. This specific exhibition only occupied a single room, and whilst there was a great variation of work on display, the overall exhibition was very short and could have had a lot more to it.
Works included which particularly stood out to me was a female nude Waterfall Mama Babies by Justine Kurland. This seems to have been the most talked about photograph in the exhibition as it displays several naked women bathing in an open stream with their children in some incredibly beautiful natural surroundings (mother nature imagery prevalent here). I think this work is noteworthy due to the subversion of the traditional female nude - the work is not at all sexualised or crude, in fact it is a beautiful display of nature and motherhood.
By stark contrast to the previous image discussed is another work included in the exhibition, entitled The Hip Hop Project, showing two women splayed over 3 males in the back of a car. No matter how it sounds, these women do not appear submissive. Body language is powerfully strong, both women appear not to be looking directly at the camera either - thus avoiding the camera's 'gaze' whilst their male counterparts are actively engaged with it. This photograph redefines female sexuality as a power which can be used to control not only themselves, but also those around them.
Despite these two images engaging me, the rest of the works were not as intriguing. I'm a big fan of Nan Goldin's work and was quite disappointed with the self portrait work of hers which was included - there are much better options. Whatsmore, the exhibition as a whole didn't really seem to hold any linearity or structure - I was unsure about the message or whether or not there was supposed to be a certain theme. However, this could be me being extremely naive - maybe this was the whole point.
The exhibition aimed to defy the laws of women being confined to a stereotype, it wanted to break the boundaries of definition and show diversity between women all over the world. Given this aim, it would therefore make sense for the images to not hold a specific structure, or be constricted to a certain theme - much like women shouldn't be constricted to a stereotype. However, this does seem slightly far fetched and over analytical - on the surface the exhibition just seemed a bit disjointed.
OVERALL RATING: ***
http://www.whitechapelgallery.org/exhibitions/terrains-of-the-body-photography-from-the-national-museum-of-women-in-the-arts/
