After discovering an old 1928 Ladies Home Journal in the bottom of a box I was thumbing through the pages thinking about how much has changed from then to now and yet how little has changed. How women still experience pressure to conform to gender roles, domesticity, standards of dress, appearance, behaviour and wealth aspiration.
In deconstructing the images in this magazine, I wanted to deconstruct the messaging that accompanied them. And yet, a hint remains. The era and the femininity is part of the story, alongside the criticism of indoctrinated expectations.
The ideas I was exploring in this series sustain my practice today as I continue to explore themes of womanhood, aging, identity, gender disparity, feminism and the myriad concerns of living in the 21st century.
This work was made during my at home residency in 2022 and first exhibited during my solo exhibition at The Churn Room. Now the series has been brought together with a few new collages made especially for a group exhibition, Toward HOME with Kylie Harries, Rachel South, Sarah O’Neill, and Mel Brady.
Curated by Deborah Eddy (@deborah_eddy_art) and hosted by the Redcliffe Art Society in the historic Old Fire Station Gallery the show brings together different ideas and perspectives on the home and how we experience it. Thanks so much to Kylie Harries (@the.hayshed) for her boundless energy in leading the project.
