Lucy Goosey Feminist Art Collective Exhibition
at Firstdraft Gallery, Wooloomoloo 2 Dec 2022 – 22 Jan 2023
A(Di)pology explores how fatphobia and discrimination shape perceptions of our own and others’ bodies.
Detail of Think Unsexy Thoughts by Emma Armstrong-Porter
Drawing upon their lived experience navigating our culture within a fat body, three members of Lucy Goosey Feminist Art Collective use sound, photography and film to reveal an intimate and vulnerable view into the deeply personal impacts of fatphobia.
The relational experience of larger-bodied people is explored in a film by Katie Theodorus. Struggling to don clothes that are too small, the artist is unable to assume an outer expression that matches their inner identity. The piece pushes back against the near universal belief in the fashion industry that fat bodies don’t deserve to be treated equitably and clothed with dignity.
Emma Armstrong-Porter presents a photographic self-portrait that addresses the ideology that fat bodies, especially female presenting bodies, have been desexualised by western society. Fat bodies are taught to constrain themselves with shapewear under loose clothes. This work protests, bringing bondage to the outside, revoking the shame that forces fat bodies away from view. The artist asserts their sexuality in a large body.
An interactive sound artwork by erincox and blackwd redefines how bodies are represented and perceived. Transforming the body’s form into a personalised sound composition, the piece challenges how the current dominant paradigm informs our judgements. An evolving soundscape composed of individual sound stamps unifies the exhibition, allowing for a fully immersive experience.
With no apology the exhibition offers a different perspective, championing positive and inclusive social change for larger-bodied people.
Our bodies are the instruments
by erincox and blckwd
Our bodies are the instruments by erincox and blackwd is an interactive sound-artwork that redefines how bodies are represented and perceived. Transforming the body’s form into a personalised sound composition, challenges how the current dominant paradigm informs our judgements.
Commonly, bodies are assessed visually. Cultural indoctrination results in our relating body size and shape with moral judgements. Interpreting the body as sound acts to invalidate our impulsive bias and ingrained stigma.
It’s not possible to completely eliminate judgments and bias. Many of us relate sounds with shape and size, envisioning deep bass sounds with larger forms and high sharp sounds with slight.
Humans no matter their cultural backgrounds also have relatively narrow preferences for sounds, rhythms and harmonic progressions.
The contemporary zeitgeist, that dictates our musical preferences and our allurement with idealised bodies is given consideration and informs this work’s language of sound.
Invited to participate and directly interact with the machine the individual becomes integrated. The process is conventionally familiar (being photographed) yet may evoke concurrent feelings of intimidation, reminiscent of medicalised assessment and playful festivity of an arcade game.
The personalised sound stamp created dismantles the norm of perceptions and representations. An alternative is prescribed that is an entirely new set of ‘rules’ that one may or may not conform to. This presents a dualism of comfort and discomfort to be navigated.
The evolving soundscape composed of the individual sound stamps encourages us to further probe our prejudices; are we all unique? Is there beauty or vulgarity in comparison? Is power held with the individual or the collective?
With such self reflection and communal speculation we can begin to ponder what bodies (selves) may be ‘allowed’ to be when stigma is detached from the status quo.
Acknowledgement of musicians Mandy Connell and Miss Jones for contributing to the sound library.
erincox 