New exhibition honours wartime artists through modern queer lens

Saturday 24 August 2024

A new art exhibition inspired by subversive wartime artists and produced by a group of contemporary queer creators is set to open next month.

'I Extend My Arms', running from 6 to 15 September at Capital House in St Helier, will feature works by Karl Murphy, Lewis G Burton, Yasmine Akim, Adam Perchard, and Jack Killick.

The exhibition, commissioned by ArtHouse Jersey with funding from Arts Council England, aims to explore themes of identity, resistance, and connection to place.

It draws inspiration from Claude Cahun and Marcel Moore, who created groundbreaking art that challenging social norms during their time in Jersey in the first half of the 20th century.

Cahun (born Lucie Renée Schwob) is best known for her highly-staged self-portraits in which she assumed a variety of androgynous performative characters, subverting gender norms through the visual aesthetics of surrealism.

Her artistic work permeated many other mediums and much of it was delivered in collaboration with her partner Moore (born Suzanne Malherbe).

Originally from France, the pair relocated to Jersey in 1937 and become active resistance workers and propagandists during the German occupation. 

Pictured: Claude Cahun and Marcel Moore enjoying the views at La Rocquaise in St Brelade. (Jersey Archive)

However, their acts of rebellion eventually led to imprisonment for the pair and they were threatened with a death sentence.

Although this was never carried out, their incarceration caused Cahun ill health until her death in 1954.

As appreciation of her work grew over time, Cahun's Jersey Heritage-held catalogue has since toured more than 50 locations around the world.

This new local exhibition hopes to honour Cahun and Moore's legacy while introducing islanders to a new generation of queer artists tackling similar themes of gender, identity and place. 

It features a range of mediums including sound, video, sculptural installation, drawings and performance,

Pictured: The surrealist photographer enjoyed posing in the grounds of La Rocquaise. (Jersey Archive)

Karl Murphy, the lead artist, discovered the  Cahun and Moore's work while studying in London where it was presented as being foundational to contemporary art. 

He said: “My hope is that anyone visiting will have a sense of wonder, of reflection on both themselves and the Island. And a sense of pride for the legacy of Cahun and Moore, as well as hearing contemporary voices who are building on that history. 

“I also hope that the queer community across the island feel some connection with what we are trying to do. 

 “Growing up it felt as if there where little to no touchstones to make sense of how I was feeling, and I hope this exhibition shows to anyone feeling the same that there are others out there, we have always been here and always will.  

“This show is for everybody, regardless of your background, it's a chance to come together and reflect on both the heritage of the island, a collection of artists reflecting in a contemporary way, and hopes and dreams for the future.”  

Pictured: Claude Cahun (Lucie Renée Schwob) and Marcel Moore (Suzanne Malherbe) are buried in St Brelade's Church's cemetery. 

Art House Jersey added: “Working with sound, video, sculptural installation, drawings and performance, this short-run exhibition promises to create a beguiling world drawn from the queer body in visceral landscapes.” 

As part of the exhibition, the artists will be leading a series of workshops exploring themes present in their works.

The artists will also give a guided tour of the exhibition on Saturday 7 September at 16:00, and a live performance night on Friday 13 September at 19:00.  

About the artists

• Karl Murphy was born in Ireland but grew up in Jersey and has lived in London for twelve years. His practice moves between poetry, sculpture, sound and socially engaged workshops. He also shows work in traditional gallery settings as well as large scale installations at queer raves and co-curated community focused exhibitions. 
• Mr Murphy chose from a network of artists he was familiar with and who each brought a different element to the process. 
• He met writer and performer Adam Perchard when they were both invited to take part in a project for artist Stuart Semple and it was his first time meeting another queer person from Jersey. 
• Lewis Burton is Mr Murphy’s sister and the founder of ‘Inferno’ which is a queer techno, rave art platform. 
• Yasmine Akimis is a photographic artist who has been involved with the queer art scene in London, as well as being a writer and teacher. 
• Jack Killick, another Jersey-born artist, makes sculptural works and paintings and has just completed a residency with Hauser and Wirth.  

Who was Claude Cahun?

• Claude Cahun was born as Lucie Renée Schwob in 1894 in France to a family of distinguished Jewish publishers.
• She spent many childhood holidays in Jersey and Brittany, where she developed a fascination with self-portraiture.
• Cahun attended the University of Sorbonne in Paris and adopted the gender-neutral pseudonym Claude Cahun
• Although Cahun refers to herself as "elle" (she) in all her own works, she said: "Masculine? Feminine? It depends on the situation. Neuter is the only gender that always suits me."
• Her work often explored themes of gender fluidity and surrealist reflections and aimed to challenge the patriarchal gaze and the sexualization of the female form.
• During the early 1920s, she settled in Paris with lifelong partner Suzanne Malherbe, who adopted the pseudonym Marcel Moore.
• The two became step-sisters in 1917 after Cahun's divorced father and Moore's widowed mother married, eight years after Cahun and Moore's artistic and romantic partnership began
• The pair lived together in Paris's bohemian community before moving to Jersey in 1937 to escape the rising antisemitism.
• Cahun and Moore became village eccentrics, wearing trousers – a rare sight in the 1930's – walking their cat, and making art together.
• They settled in St Brelade in a house called La Rocquaise overlooking the bay. The house went up for sale for £10m in June 2022.
• When the Nazis occupied Jersey in 1940, Cahun and Moore led active campaigns of resistance. They used disguises to infiltrate German gatherings and distributed anti-Nazi propaganda by listening to the BBC on an illegal radio and translating the broadcasts into German.
• Despite the immense risks, they continued their resistance activities for four years until the Nazis raided their home.
• They narrowly escaped a death sentence and were imprisoned in St Helier until Jersey's liberation on 9 May 1945.
• Cahun and Moore are buried together next to their home La Rocquaise in St Brelade's Church graveyard.