Women’s struggle for power central to two shows at Talbot Rice
The recent referendum on abortion in Ireland is the backdrop for Tremble Tremble, Jess Jones’ arresting artwork that represented her country at the 2018 prestigious Venice Biennale.
A mythical giantess, colourful marching banners, and a macabre device used to humiliate medieval women are on show here.
Neil Hanna Photography
A second show, At the Gates – which runs concurrently with Tremble Tremble – brings together artists whose work reflects the growing global struggle for female self-empowerment.
Both exhibitions present striking challenges to historically male-dominated areas of life, including the law, anthropology and even terrorism.
Tremble Tremble – a mixture of sculpture, film and theatre – centres on a video of a giantess who prowls a courtroom, reciting testimonies from women burned for witchcraft. Her performance is projected on to two monolithic screens in Talbot Rice’s Georgian Gallery.
An ornate replica iron muzzle – known as a Scold’s bridal – which was used to humiliate and torture women suspected of witchcraft will be on display. It has been made along with staff from Edinburgh College of Art.
Neil Hanna Photography
Plumes of smoke will billow from a gap in the floor – inspired by a painting of the Greek legend of the Oracle of Delphi, a high priestess who spoke on behalf of the gods. A physical performer will move around the gallery, pulling curtains and carving a circle at regular intervals.
At The Gates features seven artists or groups of artists whose work challenges the law, or institutions of power.
Work by Teresa Margolles, for instance, takes actual shrouds thrown over Mexican women who have died violently and, working with other women, decorates them with vibrant threads.
The results are displayed on a plinth like sacred objects. A video work in a nearby room shows the women discussing violence and power structures within their communities.
Twelve banners created by the Artists’ Campaign to Repeal the 8th Amendment will dominate Talbot Rice’s White Gallery. Assembled to recreate the sensation of being in a march, the banners are emblazoned with slogans that urged the Irish electorate to overturn the country’s abortion law in May.
Elsewhere, Navine G Kahn-Dossos will create 90 target cards designed for shooting ranges, which she has painted using a combination of symbols. Her work, which takes up an entire wall of the gallery, reflects the forced public exposure of HIV-positive sex workers in Athens.
Her work, which takes up an entire wall of the gallery, reflects the forced public exposure of HIV-positive sex workers in Athens.
Neil Hanna Photography
Other artists within At the Gates are Maja Bajevic, Georgia Horgan, Olivia Plender and Suzanne Treister.
The public programme of events linked to the exhibitions includes a lecture by Italian historian and feminist Silvia Federici at Edinburgh College of Art.
There will also be a panel discussion involving the artists of both exhibitions.
For more information about associated events, CLICK HERE.
Tremble Tremble / At the Gates is free and runs from 27 October until 26 January 2019.
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