Masters by Research, Art & Design: Valuing Women: Womanhood exhibition at Cambridge Artworks

Yesterday I went to a 2 day exhibition at Cambridge Artworks. (This is a good venue, does some interesting small scale exhibitions, around the back of Cambridge).

Pippa Davismoon and Charlotte Morrison work together on similar subjects around womanhood - Charlotte focusses on body image, scars and conflicting narratives, whereas Pippa explores the female form. Both artists work in glass and ceramic. I spent a lot of time talking to them.

Charlotte had considered the conflicting narratives about breastfeeding - how women are pushed by the medical profession to breast feed for as long as possible, but also how women are encouraged to return to work. She had collected phrases from her research: "at least 6 months", "I can't", "not in public", 'must return to work", "cover up", "it's natural", and printed them on slips of acetate, displayed next to a series of glass nipple shields. She was interested how the nipple is deemed the pornographic part of the breast, so cannot be shown on prime time tv, but can be shown as part of an art exhibit.

Charlotte had also worked a lot with people who had scars - most of whom covered them up. She was interested in the language used around the body and potential/actual scars. She noted that surgeons who referred to the body as an object, with phrases like "cut here", whereas when women were talking about their body and its scars, used terms of bereavement. She had worked as a counsellor in the medical field and had obviously listened carefully to the female experience. She worked in porcelain ceramic (so expensive it was called white gold) and found the materiality of the porcelain to be inspiring to use to express the preciousness of women's experience. Quite inspiring.

Pippa had also worked with words. She had gathered words used by groups of people to describe women, printed them on ceramic discs (cut with pastry cutters?) and lip shapes, and let people play with them. I made two little dancing figure shapes, one with words that described my Mother, and a completely different one that described me.

She had done a lot of work about menstruation (not a subject that greatly appeals to me) but some interesting interpretations in ceramic and glass. One series of wine coloured glass was demonstrating how vaginas are all different shapes - i.e. not the standard shape illustrated in textbooks! Some lovely mono prints in naive drawing style, but so enhanced by the simple square white box frame. Proper framing elevates the artwork (note to self!) Must improve my privileging! She had also made ceramic panty liners, rolled as if they had been stuffed in a handbag (both used and unused!), which made me both laugh and shudder. The skill to use the ceramic in such a thin, delicate, manipulated way was admirable, but also quite revoltingly abject.