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In her project Flesh after Fifty, photographer Ponch Hawkes challenges negative stereotypes of aging women in art history.
Join her, as she talks with project curator Jane Scott about this ground-breaking project and a conversation on female representation in our museums.
All welcome, FREE event.
Discover why you might want to be part of this project.
Bookings essential via Eventbrite.
Background
We live in a society swamped with images, where high value is placed on physical appearance and an association between attractiveness and youth, particularly for women. Flesh after Fifty will explore and challenge negative stereotypes of aging whilst celebrating and promoting positive images of older women through art.
Australian artists have a history of photographing, painting and sculpting the female form, mostly by and for men whose interest in exploring youth, vulnerability and beauty has dominated the images we recognise. The way in which artists portray older women often reflects public attitudes. Images of older women have changed over the last century as fashion, community, politics and society have changed. Much of the time, images of older women are absent altogether. Some artists, however, are able to rise above fashion and convention to externalise personal desires and aspirations that challenge preconceived perceptions and expectations.
Artist Information
Ponch Hawkes is an Australian photographer whose work has been widely exhibited and is part of the Australian National Gallery, NGV and State Library of Victoria collections. The subject matter of Hawkes’ work is documentary, and can be seen as a commentary on Australian society and cultural life since the 1970’s. Her work considers topics of the body, the community and relationships we hold to both, within a feminist framework.
