A Tall Order! Rochdale Art Gallery in the 1980s
This major exhibition at Touchstones Rochdale investigates and considers the exhibition programming at Rochdale Art Gallery during the 1980s, and its legacies.
It includes Slaters's Soul identified as Flesh (right).
Catalogue
A Tall Order! Rochdale Art Gallery in the 1980s
Eddie Chambers, Art Monthly, no.464 March 2023
Rochdale exhibition showcases art of the turbulent 1980s
A Tall Order! looks back on ground-breaking work that commented on major social and political events
In conversation:
Sarah-Joy Ford and Veronica Slater: Reflecting on Queer Feminisms and Modernism (video)
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Soul identified as Flesh
Oil on canvas
6' x 6'
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Soul identified as Flesh was first shown in the exhibition Along the Lines of Resistance at The Cooper Gallery, Barnsley touring to Herbert Read Gallery - Kent Inst of Art, Bonnigton Gallery - Trent University, Rochdale Art Gallery, Greenwich Citizens Gallery and South London Art Gallery, London, UK.
Excerpt from Along the Lines of Resistance catalogue text 1988:
'Soul Identified as Flesh … The standing figure is painted from life and is placed in front of the repeated image of Gluck’s Self Portrait with Cigarette (1925), presented in a format similar to Warhol’s photo/silkscreen portraits. The reproducible nature of Warhol’s photo/silkscreen technique copied in oil paint. An indirect reference is made to Warhol’s Marilyn Monroe with the intention of drawing a parallel between the different representations of female sexuality. Gluck's self portrait provides a historical context in which to locate a contemporary portrait, thereby establishing a lineage of lesbian representation and identity.'
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Along The Lines Of Resistance
Catalogue & Artist page
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Installation shot of Soul identified as Flesh in A Tall Order!
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Soul ID 1-2-3
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This series follows on from Soul identified as Flesh. The three paintings abstract the original format and explores the shifting nature of LGBTQ+ identities through the playful use of painterly language.
Our digital identities are now 24/7 on social media as opposed to the 15 minutes of Warhol fame, resulting in a constant fluidity of representation. 'Portraits' and 'icons' are mutated and dissolved within a digital maelstrom. Soul ID 1-2-3 seeks to 'frieze' that process and reflect on what it means to occupy the concept of 'identity' within this pixelated era.
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Soul ID 1-2-3
Three Paintings
Oil on canvas
4' x 4' (x3)
Photographs Copyright © 2023 Bernard G Mills
All rights reserved
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