Excerpt:
The idea that gender is a performance, originally articulated by the theorist Judith Butler in 1990, has grown far beyond the original reaches of Butler’s writings. Butler did not mean that gender was a purposeful performance but rather an unconscious, socially prescribed one. However, that idea has evolved and been pushed forward by those who find resonance in the desire to literally perform gender, or to actively reject any gender performance at all. That reclaiming of agency has been lived in, celebrated, and become part of our cultural lexicon. At the same time, this notion of the fluidity and performative nature of gender remains anything but static or universally accepted.
Contested Bodies, which opened at The Stanley & Audrey Burton Gallery at the University of Leeds on 25 October 2023 and runs until 6 April 2024, dives into this messy, vibrant chaos to bring together the works of over forty artists whose work addresses the performativity of gender in different ways. The exhibition is jointly curated by Marcelle Joseph, collector and independent curator, and Laura Claveria, Exhibitions Curator at The Stanley & Audrey Burton Gallery. Every work in the show comes from Joseph’s personal collection or her collecting partnership GIRLPOWER, making it an unusual curatorial project. Joseph’s personal taste and collecting vision are visible throughout, and her partnership with Claveria has guided the selection of works to build a strong and cohesive aesthetic vision.