A Plump Mouthful was a joint exhibition featuring two young up-and-comers exploring the current state of the feminine as well as the commodification of girlhood within the western canon and beyond. Ania Yilmaz and Isabelle Nair-Lacheta join forces and introduce you to a perspective made up of biting wit and absolutely magnetic imagery. A kind of glove-slap with a wink attached.
The works are vivid, playful and decidedly feminine. It would not be wrong to describe them as confectionary. And while they hold a good amount of humour within them, they simultaneously possess a kind of frankness which is hard to come by in today’s cultural milieu.
Ania sources primarily from the Western canon. Often referencing religious scenes from the old masters to examine our current day predicament. Repetition is an important aspect of her work. Among a sea of nonchalant heroines there are many smiling Salomes and even more frowning Suzannas. The women become archetypes expressing varying levels of glee and unease at repeating patterns. The many angles highlight the complexity of the countless layers that make up her own perspective on womanhood. A perspective which she has had to uncouple from these influences as well as those of writers and philosophers like Michel Houellebecq and Slavoj Zizek who also feature. This outlook she largely shares with Isabelle.
But where Ania lays the focus mainly with the canonical depictions and subjugation of the feminine, Isabelle concentrates more so on contemporary imagery and positions. She takes the viewer by the hand and leads them into an experience that is equal parts wistful and unsettling. When observing other people experiencing this augmented reality, you can expect to see a symphony of facial expressions ranging from airy happiness to outright horror and disgust. The viewer is introduced to a mixture of archetypes and caricatures present in historical and current day narratives. From the Bimbo to the Lolita, they all get a voice.
A Plump Mouthful takes these narratives and places the reigns firmly in the hands of the young women they are depicting. They are expressive, they are colourful and they look you dead in the eye.
Anecdotes
Anecdotes was a month long groupshow featuring works from Jeancarlo Balootje, Felice Siemons, Yosra Abbady and Sis Josip which took place in September of 2022 at Sis Josip gallery. A mixture of painting, photography and video installation, the overarching themes in the artworks were iconic (religious) imagery and the artistic process throughout the artists career. Taking place in The Hague in a beautiful and well hidden 1904 art-nouveou building in the middle of the city centre, works from artist in various stages of their image making career came together with the building like a timecapsule of sorts.
