Badlands_The contemporary Noir

Group exhibition at Articulate Projectspace, Sydney

To visualise new representations of noir that reflect the threat to the self this borderless world poses, Kirsten Drewes’ artwork questions traditional gender roles. Her soft objects make reference to sexual but simultaneously deformed bodily forms and thus create ambiguous identities that unsettle the viewers. The elicited contradictory feelings visualise the dream of a powerful self confronted by the threat of societal circumstances. To depict these conflicting feelings, the objects are materialisations of ‘femme noir’, femme fatales, which are strong and sexual but simultaneously victimised and trapped in their own circumstances. The red velvet and the gold stitching suggest glamour, however, the irregularity of the stitches bares associations to mending wounds. Inserted in velvet and false fur, the intimate vulnerable body parts are emphasised by pink crochet. The sculptures are presented in front of painted banners, which depict power struggle and relationships in a semi-abstract way.