Photographs made by many women artists during this period differed in a significant aspect by refusing the male gaze. Against the backdrop of the feminist movement and influential thinking and activism in arts and politics, women took authorial agency into their own hands. Acutely aware of the ways in which the lens could empower or reduce the subject, they put themselves, friends, and family in the picture, and in doing so, changed the cultural landscape of Australia. Photomedia became an important instrument through which these artists confronted racism and the objectification of peoples; disrupted and subverted sexually violent imagery; and forged a renewed interest in the tropes of psychoanalytic theory.
The Dark Rooms exhibition surveys works that are emotional and intensely charged. Evocations of intimacy, fantasy, and trauma appear alongside humorous, politically astute, and confrontational pieces.
Drawing largely on works from the Griffith University Art Collection, Dark Rooms also features loans from artists, private collections, and public institutions, including The Ian Potter Museum of Art, University of Melbourne, and HOTA : Home of the Arts, Gold Coast.
Event Dates
- Venue
- Griffith University Art Museum
- Location
- 226 Grey Street, South Bank, QLD 4101
- Exhibition
- Dark Rooms: Women Directing the Lens 1978–98
- Dates
- 12/07/2018 – 25/08/2018
- Location
- Brisbane, Australia
Attached Files
- Women Directing the Lens 1978–98, Griffith University Art Museum: Exhibition Labels [pdf 484.89KB]
- ArtsHub Review: Women Directing the Lens 1978–98, Griffith University Art Museum. 24 July 2018 [pdf 7.18MB]
- Weekend Australian Review: Women Directing the Lens 1978–98, Griffith University Art Museum [pdf 356.52KB]
- Dark Rooms: Women Directing the Lens 1978 – 98, Griffith University Art Museum, Cyberfeminist Manifesto for the 21st Century Billboard, 2018. Photo: Thomas Oliver [jpeg 1.86MB]
- Dark Rooms: Women Directing the Lens 1978 – 98, Griffith University Art Museum, Cyberfeminist Manifesto for the 21st Century Billboard, 2018 [jpeg 356.75KB]
- Dark Rooms: Women Directing the Lens 1978 – 98, Griffith University Art Museum, installation view, 2018 [jpeg 1.46MB]
- Dark Rooms: Women Directing the Lens 1978 – 98, Griffith University Art Museum, Panel Discussion Invitation, 2018 [jpeg 138.31KB]
- Dark Rooms: Women Directing the Lens 1978 – 98, Griffith University Art Museum, installation view, 2018. Photo: Thomas Oliver [jpeg 212.44KB]
- Dark Rooms: Women Directing the Lens 1978 – 98, Griffith University Art Museum, Panel Discussion Invitation, 2018. Speakers: Dr Louise Mayhew, Jill Orr, Francesca da Rimini, Professor Jay Younger [jpeg 414.42KB]
