Collection of 63 colour prints from an exhibition 'Woman to Woman' by Nancy Honey

Made:
1990
maker:
Nancy Honey

Collection of 63 colour prints from an exhibition 'Woman to Woman' by Nancy Honey, 1993-94.

The exhibition 'Woman to Woman' is an autobiographical exploration into how Nancy feels about being a woman today. Nancy considers herself a questioning feminist. She is aware of the conflict between how she views herself as a feminist and the radical categorisation and description immediately implies.

The exhibition essentially asks questions visually, and Nancy had deliberately chosen to work in colour photographs arranged as triptychs to emphasize this. The use of the triptychs leaves the interpretation open - it becomes a floating rather than fixed narrative. which the viewer can interpret and question freely according to his or her own preconceptions, experiences and conditioning/ Similarly colour is used to excite the subconscious - the groupings use colour as a level of meaning to which the viewer can respond emotionally.

Women everywhere will empathise and be able to see something of their own persona, many of the images conjuring up memories and stimulating thoughts of events they have experienced. The images show children role-playing as mothers dressing up and applying ,make-up, women at the supermarket, or beauty salon, or woken growing into middle and old age/ Examples of real life women are contrasted starkly by their juxtapositioning within the triptychs against the "man-made" image of women such as mannequins in show windows, media images on television or even female statues in graveyards.

Nancy Honey is renowned for her artistry in colour work and the evocative use of shadows in her photography. This visually appealing body of work unveils Nancy's deeply committed feelings on women's issues/ These are not the images of a hardened feminist but intended more to reach out and ask questions and generate thought.

Exhibition prints by Nancy Honey and Dawn Giles

An RPS Touring Exhibition

Sponsored by Bath Employment Bureau

Details

Category:
Photographs
Object Number:
2000-5062
Materials:
paper (fibre product) and ink
Measurements:
overall: 490 mm x 367 mm
type:
colour print
credit:
National Science and Media Museum, Bradford