1. Carolee Schneemann, Body Politics
Schneemann was a radical artist who remains a feminist icon and point of reference for numerous contemporary artists to this day. Addressing urgent topics from sexual expression and the objectification of women to human suffering and the violence of war, her work is concerned with the precarious lived experience of humans and animals. The artist has created many groundbreaking art/performances using her own body as a medium. Many of her exhibited works explore the sexualisation and objectification of women and have inspired me on how to improve body image in my project.
2. Soheila Sokhanvari, Rebel Rebel
Rebel Rebel, the first major UK commission by Iranian artist Soheila Sokhanvari, celebrates and commemorates feminist icons from pre-revolutionary Iran. As I enter the Curve Gallery at the Barbican, I am greeted by the songs of Googoosh. It is her bittersweet story – a story of punishment, persecution, imprisonment and exile, but also of perseverance, unquenchable creativity and defiance – that becomes the story of almost all the women who appear in Sokhanvari’s exquisite miniatures. The walls of the entire gallery have been painted with traditional Islamic iconography in geometric shapes. When I visit inside, I can feel the cries of women across time.