A new show at Tate Britain revisits feminist protest art from the 1970s and ‘80s, including paintings and prints by women whose work, efforts and skills went unsung but will doubtless prove to be deeply relevant to today’s audiences.
By Martha Alexander
“LOOK, AREN’T THERE ANY HOUSEWIVES here who want to make some art, and who are fed up with all this fine art business? Aren’t there any of you making things at home that you’d like to show each other?” So asked Su Richardson in the mid-1970s echoing an earlier statement by fellow artist Kate Walker which focused on an ongoing project that saw female artists across England send work made from their homes to one another via parcel and letter.
The Postal Art Event 1975-7 gave women, who felt bound to their homes because of marriage and motherhood, the abilityto show their art to an audience, of sorts. It created a space to discuss their work and display it, all the while highlighting the struggle women artists had when it came to finding time, space and materials to work. This constant exchange of letters and objects was the opposite of lofty fine art ideals of quiet, airy studios and endless supplies of oils. The studio was the home – a place of meal making, children’s toys and cleaning.
The sending and receiving of art allowed women to maintain a professional identity. The women borrowed concepts and riffed on one another’s themes. They were all at once artist, audience, critic and collaborator.
Domestic life was documented through the lens of the artist – often using everyday household objects. There were pieces of embroidery, product packaging, postcards and portraits. Common themes included windows, masks and self-portraits – suggesting a preoccupation with the divide between the home and the outside world as well as identity and image.
The project is one of the many highlights of Women in Revolt! Art and Activism in the UK 1970 – 1990, a new exhibition at Tate Britain featuring a selection of feminist art in the UK. Works including paintings, prints and sculptures by over 100 female artists or collectives of women artists will produce a visual record, ▸
displayed chronologically, of the political and socioeconomic issues of this period.
As with The Postal Art Event, a considerable number of the other artworks shown are a comment on women and domestic labour. This is, regrettably, still a contentious issue in 2023 (women still perform 75 per cent of unpaid work global
