A study for Cognitive Services, Letta Shtohryn, 2019
Strangers in a Strange Land
Strangers in a Strange Land is a multidisciplinary exhibition about being female in a world narrated by and designed for men. Four contemporary visual and multidisciplinary artists have been asked to react to the status quo of a male-oriented world. The exhibition will provide a space for the development of experimental contemporary art, allowing artists to develop their practice, and exposing audiences to multidisciplinary works.
We believe that the world’s default is a man’s reality; our spaces, tools and narratives are designed to fit a man’s physicality and a ‘masculine’ behaviour. This show asks how patriarchal norms - many so ubiquitous that we are not even conscious of them - can be challenged effectively. How can the status quo in a male-oriented world be redefined systematically, soberly and successfully? And how can new ways of being be normalised to reflect a more balanced world.
Strangers in a Strange Land asks how we can re-design, re-narrate and re-see what is said, what is valued. What can a more feminine perspective contribute, and what does a feminine perspective mean in terms of physical, philosophical and societal outlooks? And does the bilateral depiction of ‘feminine’ and ‘masculine’ exist, or to what extent is it a false construct?
This is a show about being female in a world narrated by and designed for men. The world’s default is a man’s reality; our spaces, tools and narratives are designed to fit a man’s physicality and a masculine behaviour. This show asks how patriarchal norms - many so ubiquitous that we are not even conscious of them - can be challenged effectively. How can the status quo in a male-oriented world be redefined systematically, soberly and successfully? And how can new ways of being be normalised to reflect a more balanced world.
For decades, feminism fought for women to be equal to men; that was a necessary part of the feminist struggle. But now we know that a man’s world is not where we want to be. In the twenty-first century, feminism is questioning a male-dominated world-narrative, and demanding a re-calibration of the universal world-view.
This exhibition asks how we can re-design, re-narrate and re-see what is said, what is valued. What can a more feminine perspective contribute, and what does a feminine perspective mean in terms of physical, philosophical and societal outlooks? And does the bilateral depiction of ‘feminine’ and ‘masculine’ exist, or to what extent is it a false construct?
How can women shift from being merely an afterthought or appendage to society’s prevailing narratives? How can the world be seen differently to allow for women to move from outlier to equal? Can a traditionally male hegemony be reshaped and remodelled or is inequality simply an unattainable mirage?
Some references:
The deadly truth about a world built for men - from stab vests to car crashes
Kleinhenz, Elizabeth, Germaine, the life of Germaine Greer
Brazilian Modernism: Feminism in Disguise
Art et Féminisme
Artificial Hells: Participatory Art and the Politics of Spectatorship
Why I photographed 100 vaginas
'Let me tell you why Malta has a problem with women'
Would the world be more peaceful if there were more women leaders?
Protest and Survive
Federici, Silvia, Feminism and the Politics of the Common in an Era of Primitive Accumulation
We believe that the world’s default is a man’s reality; our spaces, tools and narratives are designed to fit a man’s physicality and a ‘masculine’ behaviour. This show asks how patriarchal norms - many so ubiquitous that we are not even conscious of them - can be challenged effectively. How can the status quo in a male-oriented world be redefined systematically, soberly and successfully? And how can new ways of being be normalised to reflect a more balanced world.
Strangers in a Strange Land asks how we can re-design, re-narrate and re-see what is said, what is valued. What can a more feminine perspective contribute, and what does a feminine perspective mean in terms of physical, philosophical and societal outlooks? And does the bilateral depiction of ‘feminine’ and ‘masculine’ exist, or to what extent is it a false construct?
This is a show about being female in a world narrated by and designed for men. The world’s default is a man’s reality; our spaces, tools and narratives are designed to fit a man’s physicality and a masculine behaviour. This show asks how patriarchal norms - many so ubiquitous that we are not even conscious of them - can be challenged effectively. How can the status quo in a male-oriented world be redefined systematically, soberly and successfully? And how can new ways of being be normalised to reflect a more balanced world.
For decades, feminism fought for women to be equal to men; that was a necessary part of the feminist struggle. But now we know that a man’s world is not where we want to be. In the twenty-first century, feminism is questioning a male-dominated world-narrative, and demanding a re-calibration of the universal world-view.
This exhibition asks how we can re-design, re-narrate and re-see what is said, what is valued. What can a more feminine perspective contribute, and what does a feminine perspective mean in terms of physical, philosophical and societal outlooks? And does the bilateral depiction of ‘feminine’ and ‘masculine’ exist, or to what extent is it a false construct?
How can women shift from being merely an afterthought or appendage to society’s prevailing narratives? How can the world be seen differently to allow for women to move from outlier to equal? Can a traditionally male hegemony be reshaped and remodelled or is inequality simply an unattainable mirage?
Some references:
The deadly truth about a world built for men - from stab vests to car crashes
Kleinhenz, Elizabeth, Germaine, the life of Germaine Greer
Brazilian Modernism: Feminism in Disguise
Art et Féminisme
Artificial Hells: Participatory Art and the Politics of Spectatorship
Why I photographed 100 vaginas
'Let me tell you why Malta has a problem with women'
Would the world be more peaceful if there were more women leaders?
Protest and Survive
Federici, Silvia, Feminism and the Politics of the Common in an Era of Primitive Accumulation
Roxman Gatt will be showing and developing work that has already been worked upon during 2019 entitled My Womxn is a God My God is a Womxn. This work investigates derogatory terms for women used throughout history, and draws inspiration from Joan of Arc, and the history of witches. She will be showing some visual work and performing alongside her dancers.
In her work Cognitive Services, Letta Shtohryn will investigate aspects of facial recognition, of machine vision vs lens vision as different ways of seeing. The work explores how a facial recognition machine describes and identifies a human face, with an inbuilt bias that often misidentified everyone but white men. This will be a development of her work that was recently exhibited at Spazju Kreattiv.
Charlene Galea will bring her background in fashion, and her social media-based art practice into her work. She will explore preconceptions of women in Maltese neighbourhoods, working in performance and self-photography.
Barumbara will be devising a piece, questioning a male-dominated world-narrative, and demanding a recalibration of the universal world-view. Their performative and installation work will ask if a traditionally male hegemony can be reshaped and remodelled or if inequality is simply an unattainable mirage.
In her work Cognitive Services, Letta Shtohryn will investigate aspects of facial recognition, of machine vision vs lens vision as different ways of seeing. The work explores how a facial recognition machine describes and identifies a human face, with an inbuilt bias that often misidentified everyone but white men. This will be a development of her work that was recently exhibited at Spazju Kreattiv.
Charlene Galea will bring her background in fashion, and her social media-based art practice into her work. She will explore preconceptions of women in Maltese neighbourhoods, working in performance and self-photography.
Barumbara will be devising a piece, questioning a male-dominated world-narrative, and demanding a recalibration of the universal world-view. Their performative and installation work will ask if a traditionally male hegemony can be reshaped and remodelled or if inequality is simply an unattainable mirage.
