National Galleries Scotland
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Linsey Young, Curator of British Contemporary Art at Tate Britain, where the show originated, tells us more…
Women in Revolt! has been widely celebrated as a pivotal display of feminist work. How did the exhibition initially come about?
I was brought up by a working-class single mum and as her only child we had a very close relationship. To me, women like her and her friends were goddesses, and growing up and moving into the world it astonished me that wider society did not see them as I did.
As I moved through my career that sense got stronger – so many of our institutions are run by men, and women’s voices, particularly those of older women, women of colour, queer women, trans women and working-class women are overlooked or intentionally ignored. In terms of art history I’ve been working in major organisations for over 15 years and it’s always astounded me that in British art there is a massive gap in our knowledge from those critical decades of the 1970s and 80s. I include myself in that, I had no idea what I would find as I was never taught these histories.
And what do you hope the audience is taking away from the exhibition?
I have two favourite reactions. One was a woman saying she was going home to leave her husband because Women in Revolt! made her realise she didn’t need to accept her current personal situation. Then a security guard at Tate telling me that reading the reports of women’s labour in Women and Work by Margaret Harrison, Mary Kelly and Kay Hunt had made him realise how little he did to help his wife with their children and that he was going to change that.
Personally, I’m always hoping for a revolution and the destruction of patriarchy. However, perhaps more manageable is a hope that people feel at home, that they see their own lives represented and celebrated and that it is empowering to them.
Three works on show in Women In Revolt! have been acquired for the national collection on behalf of the people of Scotland. They’re part of an ongoing strategy to increase the number of works by women in the collection. Emma Gillespie, Assistant Curator, Modern and Contemporary Art, National Galleries Scotland introduces two works by Penny Slinger
As one of the pioneers of the feminist avant-garde, it was essential to include Slinger’s work in Women in Revolt!. Since the late 1960s, she has worked across a range of media – including sculpture, painting, photo-collage, film and performance – often employing her own body, both as a subject and a tool.
Wedding Cake – Open Secret and Bride and Groom – Ceremonial Cutting of the Cake belong to Slinger’s Bride’s Cake (1973) provocative series which explores food, nourishment, eroticism and their gendered associations. In these striking and empowering images, Slinger wears a three-dimensional costume that transforms her into a surreal hybrid – she is both the bride and the wedding cake.
The costume has a detachable slice that, when ‘cut into’, exposes the artist’s genitalia. Parodying the traditional wedding ritual, Slinger draws attention to the complex power relations that hide at the core of such conventions. In merging the female nude with an enticing consumable, Slinger pokes fun at the fetishisation of women’s body parts by the male gaze.
Lucy Askew, Chief Curator, Modern and Contemporary Art, National Galleries of Scotland introduces a work by Sam Ainsley
Warrior Woman V: The Artist (1996) is a truly monumental wall-based work. At nearly 3 and a half metres high it depicts a striding figure, setting out to confront and resist the patriarchy. Ainsley has noted that her work considers “how we might bridge the gap between women’s experience of the world and that of men”, and this work is indicative of her interest in the politics of the body and feminism. Towering over the viewer, the work is made of acrylic paint on canvas with cotton binding – this and its strong colour palette, dominated by blue and red, might suggest the language of protest banners.
Sam Ainsley is a hugely influential figure in the Scottish art scene – she co-founded the Masters of Fine Art Course at GSA in the early 1990s. Her role as an educator and champion of younger generations of artists has been significant in creating the vibrant artistic community in this country. It is an essential work in Women in Revolt! and it’s been terrific to see it at Tate Britain, and now at Modern Two in Edinburgh. We are thrilled that visitors are able to encounter this major work from the national collection in this landmark show.
Women in Revolt! Art and Activism in the UK 1970-1990 is open to visit in Modern Two until 26 January 2025. Tickets are on sale now!
Photo credits: (left) Bride and Groom – Ceremonial Cutting of the Cake (1973), Penny Slinger. Purchased 2024. © Penny Slinger. All rights reserved. DACS, London; (right) Warrior Woman V: The Artist (1986), Sam Ainsley. Purchased 1987. Photo by Julie Howden
