Although this trip was more than just to the Barbican due to the sheer size of the Re/Sisters: A Lens on Gender and Ecology show it became very much the focus of our trip to London as part of our Masters Fine Art course. The opportunity to take on board an exhibition of this breadth and depth doesn't happen very often and with such a rich area to be explored it was going to take some digesting. The Barbican introduces it on their website as: 'A major group exhibition exploring the relationship between gender and ecology, highlighting the systemic links between the oppression of women and the degradation of the planet.'
'Featuring around 50 international women and gender non-conforming artists, RE/SISTERS is a new exhibition featuring work from emerging and established artists across photography and film.'
(https://www.barbican.org.uk/ReSisters?utm_campaign=CCOAG300823_ReSisters&utm_source=google&utm_medium=search&utm_content=search&gclid=Cj0KCQiAmNeqBhD4ARIsADsYfTdFFvmt-7tHUWFBchWOkIA5MUkOtjnFBLAY-z5HwI45Oebums8Ec3EaAt3mEALw_wcB)
Prior to our visit we were tasked with a couple of very salient points. Salient because this unit is very much about how work is exhibited, shown, lit, the user experience and the relationship between the artist and the viewer.
Field notes
As you visit the exhibitions you selected according to your interests, please analyse the curatorial aspects of the show using the following guidelines:
1- How is the show curated?
Look at the lighting, where is it directed, how it affects the artworks exhibited, how it affects the mood. Is there a general light source or is it focused on particular places?
Notice the construction and architecture of the space around you, colours and textures of the walls, floors and ceilings. Are the rooms spacious?
How easy or difficult is it to navigate between the rooms?
Can you spot the exhibition exit?
Do you have a sense of how large the exhibition is from the start?
Look at the signage. Is it easy to read?
Do the signs contain relevant information?
Notice the curatorial decisions taken about where to place each work. Do the works converse with one another?
What new links and ideas are created as you walk from one work to the next?
How does the curation of the exhibition respond to themes of sustainability?
Rather than answer all the questions I will try to summarise my experience taking on board these particular issues. I had conducted a small amount of research about the exhibition and it did make me curious about the work that was going to be shown. The two subjects 'Gender' and 'Ecology' seemed at odds with one another, it was only by going around the show that you could see this common and very strong link, it was inherent throughout. as we entered the exhibition I had no idea how large it was, it flowed, bent round corners and you were directed through different rooms, all white spaces, from one area of investigation to another. With the majority of the work being represented through photography and film there was also a lot of comprehension required and for this there were many points explaining the work and contextualising, this was all clear and concise enough but you did need to read lot to get a thorough understanding of the relevance of several areas. As I progressed through the exhibition I could clearly see the link between Gender and Ecology, it ran strong and deeper than I would have thought. Or maybe more that it was brought more to my attention, highlighting the feminism angle of the show. Having lived through the times of many of the works, particularly the Greenham Common protests in the 1980's, I found it refreshing to see it with the life experience I have now and the education of the cause, rather than through the lens of a vitriolic media in the 1980's and therefore the public perception of who were the people dedicating their lives to this protest.
My initial experience of the exhibition was that the work on show was quite expressive and visually pleasing. Decisions of display were carefully considered and space was given to each section. However, as we progressed through it became more of a documentation style and this required more reading to understand the work. This was not an exhibition to rush through, you needed to dig deeper. Space was given between each new work, the majority of the time you had to enter a new space, a pause was allowed. However, after a considerable time we cam to what most of us believed was the end and were contemplating what next before we realised there was an upstairs of almost equal space! I don't believe any of us were aware of the extent of the show and how long it might take to go around.
There was a variety of ways the work was displayed, some of it very traditional, others quite unique and even quite simple. I think everyone was quite surprised at the pieces of work displayed on simple crafted wooden A-Boards. However, they created a viewing opportunity that was quite unique and the point of view of the observer worked really well, giving you the perspective of looking down at what were essentially aerial shots.
The lighting throughout was good and considered. At no point did I think something could have been lit better or differently, it did what good lighting should do and that was show the work in a clear light. Lighting shouldn't become a part of the show, it should support and compliment, which is what it did.
2- Your experience
Notice how the exhibition affects you emotionally, psychologically, physically. Does it make you tired?
Do you feel inspired?
If you feel moved by one or more works in the exhibition, does the exhibition offer you the space to reflect and process these feelings?
Are the thoughts, ideas and experiences that the exhibition provoked active after you left?
I think this particular exhibition informed and educated me. It was quite photo-documentary heavy and then there were brief areas of quite unexplainable art, which confused me. It was quite a tiring experience, it was so very large, with a lot to take in. I wanted to read to understand and I wanted to have some of the work explained but after a while this meant your concentration was struggling. You almost needed a half time break area before tackling the second half. A reflection area...
Having looked back at the images I took of the exhibition there are many areas that I have almost forgotten, for instance Mierle Laderman Ukeles, who shook the hand of every one of New York's refuse collectors. All 8,500 of them. This in itself takes some comprehending, the physical effort and time involved but more importantly the concept behind it. There were a series of tv screens discussing an incident about someone who had their arm trapped as a 'sanman' and how that was dealt with. But with so much else it would be very easy to move on to the next area and artist. Great as it was to see such an extensive collection of work by artists working on a common thread it did become overwhelming at times.
With so much work on show and so many issues discussed and explored I perhaps should have, and perhaps should still purchase the book of the show to delve deeper and in my time to understand more about some of the work that perhaps went under my radar. Sometimes less is more but clearly there was a lot to be said about the many subjects and historical incidents covered in Re/Sisters. It was a well curated, cleanly displayed and informative show throughout I wasn't sure what to expect, which can be a good thing and there were many really intriguing collections of work on show. It was big, I just wonder if it was it too big?
