Description:
The Assumed Divide is a visual arts based, practice-led research project which explores expectations of gender within the context of interpersonal relationships, structured through feminist theory. I created a collection of small, figurative sculptures inspired by experiences of animosity and misunderstanding, to locate areas of gendered interpersonal ambivalence. This thesis proposes that feminism might enhance gender relations by deconstructing harmful stereotypes and by encouraging empathy and respect for diversity. Issues such as reproductive choice, intergenerational debate, and uncertainty in aims are discussed as apparent impediments to the unity of feminism, against a patriarchal tradition that grants men categorical universality. I argue that by dismantling the perception of male unification and by elucidating the multitudinous similarities and variances of human experience, feminism makes advances in eliminating sexism. I also examine how binary gender division, with an assumption of distinct difference between male and female, generates conflict and power dynamics advantageous to men, diminishing the quality of heterosexual and social relationships. The observation that overlapping gender traits blur boundaries of male and female, and that rigid categorisations are not indisputably representative of all people, may offer more points of connection to bridge the divide of gender. Each artwork in The Assumed Divide reflects on gendered experience, with sculpted depictions of disintegrated flesh acting as visual manifestations of the psyches and social conditions of the figures. Working realistically on a small scale, and integrating found silver trays as motifs of domesticity and relationships, my intent is to directly stimulate contemplation of the themes in context to viewers’ lives, recognising that the audience is free to find their own meaning in the works. Discussion of these pieces, alongside works by other artists who broach topics of feminism, gender, and relationships, exemplifies the capacity for art to infuse theory with personal insight, inspired and derived from the lives of both artist and viewer.
Description:
Exhibition at the Post Office Gallery, Federation University Australia, 8th-18th November 2017. The Assumed Divide is an exhibition of small, figurative sculpture works, created in response to an exploration of gender, feminism and relationships. Sylvia Hollis works with the nude human figure for its ability to expose the commonality of physical existence. Wary of the temptation to objectify the body, her representations keenly express a connection to the psychological states of the characters. In this series, depictions of torn, hollowed or disintegrated flesh suggest the sometimes painful or destructive process of negotiating intimacy between self and other. Drawn from personal experience, further informed by study in gender and feminism, this body of work examines the division created by assuming a categorical difference between men and women. Sylvia’s works have been described as confronting and graphic, as well as receiving praise for their realism and sensitivity. They offer insight into the interactions and perspective of a millennial woman who battles internalised sexism and a history of unequal relationships. Resoundingly, this exhibition affirms the right to claim and maintain autonomy, highlighting how this may be undermined by attempts to satisfy stereotypical requirements of a relationship. Reverting to ingrained binary stereotypes reduces our potential to understand the myriad spectrums of identity, allowing the decidedly unfair battle of the sexes to continue. Image: Sylvia Hollis, Disconnect, 2017 (detail), mixed media, 31 x 38 x 22cm
Description:
Exhibition at the Post Office Gallery, Federation University Australia, 8th-18th November 2017. The Assumed Divide is an exhibition of small, figurative sculpture works, created in response to an exploration of gender, feminism and relationships. Sylvia Hollis works with the nude human figure for its ability to expose the commonality of physical existence. Wary of the temptation to objectify the body, her representations keenly express a connection to the psychological states of the characters. In this series, depictions of torn, hollowed or disintegrated flesh suggest the sometimes painful or destructive process of negotiating intimacy between self and other. Drawn from personal experience, further informed by study in gender and feminism, this body of work examines the division created by assuming a categorical difference between men and women. Sylvia’s works have been described as confronting and graphic, as well as receiving praise for their realism and sensitivity. They offer insight into the interactions and perspective of a millennial woman who battles internalised sexism and a history of unequal relationships. Resoundingly, this exhibition affirms the right to claim and maintain autonomy, highlighting how this may be undermined by attempts to satisfy stereotypical requirements of a relationship. Reverting to ingrained binary stereotypes reduces our potential to understand the myriad spectrums of identity, allowing the decidedly unfair battle of the sexes to continue. Image: Sylvia Hollis, Disconnect, 2017 (detail), mixed media, 31 x 38 x 22cm