Solo

Is female subjectivity possible within a patriarchal system? The following discussion investigates feminist thought though equality, difference and androgyny, mapping the achievements, setbacks, advantages and disadvantages of each through the theories of Luce Irigaray, Jacques Derrida, Julia Kristeva and others.

‘where our bodies hit the world’ is an attempt to conform to a standard and being found lacking. A performance evolved to control our bodies which only undermine the regulation. Resulting in performative photographic and video work around trauma, rage and resilience.

New Zealand based artist Justine Walker uses repetition, performance and lived experience to research longing, loss, acceptance and family. Her latest video work ‘do you love me?’ is a longing for acceptance. A woman plays into the miscommunication of love by sending semaphore signals in mirror image. The red & yellow Oscar flags, used to signal at sea, increase the distance as she repeatedly asks passers-by, ‘do you love me?’, not knowing if the question is noticed, heard or understood.

Walker wanted to be a mother, but after years of fertility treatments has found herself childless. ‘For Sale: baby shoes, never worn’ responds to this journey and what happens next.

Blue Oyster Art Project SpaceDunedin, New Zealand15 July – 8 August 2009 With Is this Enough? Justine Walker presents a series of video and wall

‘I’m interested in the idea that the man’s fascination with the image of the woman remains fundamentally an enigma to the man himself.’ Victor Burgin.