16 - 23 june 2007
Opening: Saturday 16 May 2007, 5-7pm
>Social Masquerade by Robyn Magowan
Womanliness could …be assumed and worn as a mask, both to hide the possession
of masculinity and to avert the reprisals expected if she were found to possess it……
(RIVIERE, J. 1929 Womanliness as a Masquerade.)
accepts her status as the inessential other, she lies when she presents to him an imaginary
personage through mimicry, costumery, studied phrases. These histrionics require a
constant tension;….every woman is more or less conscious of the thought ‘ I am not being myself'
(de BEAUVOIR, S. 1949 The Second Sex.).
Masquerade is explained by these 20th Century commentators as a woman's performance of herself to fulfill a man's expectations and a psychological defense against punishment she might receive for not doing so. The notion of social masquerade as a means of disguise, allows a battered wife to publicly perform the traditionalist fantasy of living 'happily-ever-after although in her private life, the opposite is true.
In these works, I address the failure of masquerade to avert battery in the private domain. Taking into consideration information gathered from interviews with battered women, I have explored the use of clothing, accessories, and pastimes as a means to convey what I perceive as the physical and emotional damage perpetrated by men who batter their wives. Domestic crafts are used as a fine art medium because they were historically associated with the containment and management of women. The works thus aim to express through medium and visual effect, the psychological experience and physical effect of battery on women. In this way I hope to raise awareness of the prevalence of wife battery in our society, which so often goes unreported and is shrouded in secrecy and shame for the victim.
