Volume

Volume Art Exhibition // Abbotsford Convent art gallery

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Volume is a women-led and organised art exhibition that focuses on amplifying women’s voices through a myriad of creative expressions and channels. This body of work is a campaign, demonstrating the synthesis of the gleanings found within the legend of Samson and Deliah, where the focus spotlights the latter, and the incessant need for women to be heard through expressions of their choice. In the biblical narrative, Delilah represents the dangerous trifecta of evil; seditious, seductive and treacherous. But it becomes evident that these are adjectives fabricated by people who fear the power of women, so their instinct is to relegate them to a confining box for endless control and regulation. Using a combination of photography and mixed media, the final outcomes for this project reflect the historical plight of women bathed in a contemporary light. This branded campaign aims to break the imposed silencing that women consistently face in society. The convergence of old and new is not only metaphorical, but it is a recurring theme across this body of work. The obvious Dadaist influence on aesthetic decisions references a movement synonymous with loud verbal visuals and a highly politically charged climate; an appropriate symbol. The self-constructivism evident in the gritty, textured photographic and art style is reminiscent of the determination, preservation and perseverance of women who have circumstantially been required to forge their own paths across time, no matter what cost. Exalting female voices in their many tones and expressions aims to reclaim the idea of the evil woman through this art exhibition. It poses a hanging thought: perhaps the evil woman does not exist, perhaps she is just woman.