Select a region
A new all-female exhibition bringing together illustrators, painters, sculptors, ceramicists and photographers is opening tonight to showcase the breadth of women’s creativity.
‘Being Human’ was organised by local artists Gabriella Street (24) and Amy CD (22) to give fellow women a platform and showcase their work for all to see.
A digital illustrator and oil painter, and a painter and drawer respectively, the pair said they were tired of seeing female creatives failing to get the same recognition as their male counterparts.
Pictured: Chantal Venton, Eliza Reine, Lulu MacDonald, Lizi Summer, Olga Hawksworth, Leah Finch, Estelle Moseley and Lucy Blackmore.
Last September, they decided the best way to remedy this was to hold an all-female exhibition, with ‘Being Human’ as its premise, and to open it to all female creatives in the Channel Islands, regardless of their discipline.
The response, Gabriella says, was “overwhelming. “It was difficult to select,” she adds. “We chose the ones we loved and felt passionate about. It would be lovely next time to have a bigger space to show more work. It hasn’t even started yet, but it has been a success so far.”
“It has really gone over my expectations,” Amy adds. “The works complement each other.”
Pictured: Abi Overland, Clarice Greening, Flo Crowcroft, Gabrielle Radiguet, Pippa Barrow, Joanne Smith, Linda Rose Parkes and Bethany Voak.
Gabriella and Amy say they were pleased to see the works of the 21 selected artists come together at the Berni Gallery, saying that the huge variety of mediums, which include glasswork, ceramics, painting, photography, fabrics, installation, animation, poetry as well live performances, makes the exhibition “even more special".
“It shows the vast amount of talent there is in the Channel Islands,” Gabriella says. “It wasn’t difficult to get that variety, it was just that everyone was naturally gifted in different ways.”
Gabriella and Amy’s work is included in the exhibition along that of Abi Overland, Lizi Summer, Pippa Barrow and Lucy Blackmore. There are also newcomers like Olga Hawksworth, who created a floral-themed bass-relief sculpture for the exhibition.
Pictured: It is the first time Olga Hawksworth shows her work to islanders.
It is the very first time Olga is showing her work in Jersey. “It is wonderful,” she says, looking at the Gallery. “It shows we are all so different, the pieces and the style are unique, just like us as individuals.”
“Gabriella and Amy have been really generous to offer us this space and the opportunity to show our work,” adds poet Jane Cotillard, who admits she hasn’t exhibited anything for a long time.
For ‘Being Human’, she has combined one of her poems, inspired by a line in Virginia Wolf’s ‘To the Lighthouse,’ and an installation including a holy tree root weaved to a chair. “I wanted something to show aside from the performance and my written work,” she explained.
Pictured: Jane Cotillard setting up her installation.
While the exhibition continues until 30 March, tonight’s opening will be made extra special by the presence of local musicians, Phoebe Over and Naomi West as well as bands Mispers and Midriff, and two Balafons.
Gabriella and Amy are hoping ‘Being Human’ will be a success and that the experience might be repeated next year - and even in Guernsey, as two of the artists exhibiting are from there.
They are also hoping this first instalment will convince local organisations and individuals to offer their support and help fund the exhibition costs.
“It’s all about showing we are all equal,” Gabriella said. “We all deserve respect as artists.”
Comments
Comments on this story express the views of the commentator only, not Bailiwick Publishing. We are unable to guarantee the accuracy of any of those comments.