behind her 'I's

 image courtesy of Sophie Berdzenishvili                           

behind her ‘I’s

women in the work of female photographers

“behind her ‘I’s” is a photographic exhibition in Abertillery, Wales, exploring the themes of women’s image and identity from the perspective of female photographers. 

Women have been creating photography from its very beginning, with famous female photographers such as Anna Atkins (1799-1871), Julia Margaret Cameron (1815-1879), Tina Modotti (1896-1942), Lee Miller (1907-1977), Diane Arbus (1923-1971), Francesca Woodman (1958-1981), Annie Leibovitz (b.1949) or Nan Goldin (b.1953), to name a few.

However, in fine art photography, like in other arts, mainstream media and culture, the prevalent role of women is that of aestheticised muses, often passive or objectified. That gaze is not necessarily exclusive to, or inherent in all art created by male artists, but a dominant canon in the representation of women. 

“behind her ‘I’s” is an exhibition aimed at countering this. We’d like to present artists whose work touches upon the questions of female identity and presents a non-standard look at age, beauty and gender roles.

“behind her ‘I’s” is the second event organised by the*kickplate*project, an initiative to bring high-quality international art to people who are not the target audience of art. This time we're featuring Marit Beer (Germany), Sophie Berdzenishvili (Georgia), Hanan Kazma (Lebanon), Mariya Kozhanova (Kaliningrad) and Mano Svanidze (Georgia).