Obsidian Ladder, 2019 Donna Huanca (b. 1980) is an American-Bolivian artist whose work combines painting, sculpture, sound, scent, and live performance. Obsidian Ladder is an immersive installation in which Huanca deconstructs gender dynamics and invites us into a world where women are no longer objectified. Painted, semi-nude females move freely against a backdrop of vibrant wall panels, steel sculptures, sand, and soundscapes, in turn presenting an alternative to the male gaze. ‘My work has always been a poetic gesture commenting on societal imbalances and injustices. As I have had more opp ..read more

Running Firecracker, 2016 Haegue Yang (b. 1971) is a South Korean installation and performative sculpture artist who lives and works in Berlin and Seoul. By combining industrial and folk craftsmanship with sensory experiences of sound, light and tactility, Yang explores the power of materials to shape and create new spaces and narratives. Running Firecracker belongs to Yang’s sculpture series, The Intermediates, which employs traditional arts and crafts techniques with modern production methods. Yang made the conscious decision to use artificial straw in her work, enabling her to step away fr ..read more

Etan, 2013 Viviane Sassen (b. 1972) is a Dutch photographer whose work hovers between fashion photography and fine art. Sassen never plans her photoshoots, instead choosing to work from vague ideas or a specific person from which to build her photographic experiments. Irrespective of Sassen’s free-flowing creative approach, her use of colour, shape, powder and paint always helps to create a tactile, evocative quality to her images. Etan belongs to a series of Sassen’s photographs that were used to accompany a poem by Maria Barnas in their 2014 co-authored publication: Etan & Me. Whilst in ..read more

Children of Revolution, 2019 Soheila Sokhanvari is an Iranian-born multidisciplinary artist whose work focuses on life in pre-revolutionary Iran. Sokhanvari bases her paintings on old family photographs and interweaves political with often surreal imagery to make the viewer think about events which are too painful to speak of. By painting on calf vellum, Sokhanvari also aims to convey the idea of an individual’s sacrifice or martyrdom. In Children of Revolution, the women appear happy and relaxed, unaware that they are on the precipice of the 1979 revolution; a revolution which their unborn c ..read more

Ma vie en rose, 2015 Billie Zangewa (b. 1973) is a Malawian artist who creates intricate tapestries which explore the female experience through scenes of everyday life. Working predominantly with silk, Zangewa begins each tapestry by sketching an image and then layering and hand-stitching pieces of fabric together to create the final piece. Each work is left with frayed edges and empty areas to enable the viewer to complete, and therefore be involved in, the narrative. In Ma Vie en Rose, Zangewa celebrates her identity as a mother through a scene that is both personal, yet universally relatab ..read more

Girls series, 2007 – 2017 Luo Yang (b. 1984) is a Chinese photographer who documents the lives of women in China through her Girls series. Yang does not attempt to make any observations or critiques of a patriarchal society through her photography. Instead, she aims to show the world through the eyes of strong, independent Chinese women. ‘We might have different values and world views, but what we have in common are a fragility and braveness inside of us. We face the world with our sincerity’ – Luo Yang Image via luoyangphoto.com ..read more

Aluna, 2017 Maria Berrio (b. 1982) is a Colombian artist who creates striking paper collages which convey the rich oral traditions, rituals, customs, and beliefs of South America. Berrio starts each collage by sketching an idea and then layering pieces of paper which she sources from around the world to create the final piece. It is this fusion of colour and cultures which is so integral to the aesthetic and meaning of her work. Aluna references the creator figure of the Kogi people who live in a remote mountain area in Colombia. The Kogi select their priests, called mamos, from birth and rai ..read more

Shadows and Silhouettes, 2015 Valerie Snobeck (b. 1980) is an American sculptor who combines found objects with studio-made materials. Shadows and Silhouettes forms part of a larger body of work by Snobeck, entitled Reservoirs, in which blown glass takes the form of used plastic water containers. We are not told why the containers are in their current state, but their dusty and misshapen forms, often organic in appearance, suggest the overuse of natural resources and the finite nature of potable water. ‘I am interested in the many ways of getting across information. If not through manipulatio ..read more

Twelve Reasons You’re Tired All The Time, 2013 Juno Calypso (b. 1989) is a London-based photographer who takes self-portraits, disguised as a character named Joyce, in quirky and playful settings. Whilst studying for a degree in photography, Calypso resorted to taking photos of herself when she was unable to find a model for a photoshoot. To make the experience less awkward, Calypso began pulling funny faces to hide her embarrassment, and the character of Joyce was born. Although the exact identity of Joyce is never revealed, she always appears to be lost in her own thoughts, either overwhelm ..read more

Obsidian Ladder, 2019 Donna Huanca (b. 1980) is an American-Bolivian artist whose work combines painting, sculpture, sound, scent, and live performance. Obsidian Ladder is an immersive installation in which Huanca deconstructs gender dynamics and invites us into a world where women are no longer objectified. Painted, semi-nude females move freely against a backdrop of vibrant wall panels, steel sculptures, sand, and soundscapes, in turn presenting an alternative to the male gaze. ‘My work has always been a poetic gesture commenting on societal imbalances and injustices. As I have had more opp ..read more