Barbican's RE/SISTERS exhibition critiques ecofeminist art display despite powerful works
The Barbican's exhibition, RE/SISTERS: A Lens on Gender and Ecology, showcases 250 artworks created by 50 international women and non-binary artists, focusing on ecofeminist concepts. Among the highlighted works are Susan Schuppli's COLD RIGHTS (2022), inspired by Sheila Watt-Cloutier's 2005 petition, and Taloi Havini's Habitat (2017), which captures Indigenous narratives from Bougainville. Dionne Lee's collage reflects on the historical context of racialized land access in the United States. Influenced by ecofeminist literature such as Francoise d'Eaubonne's Feminism or Death (1974) and Carolyn Merchant's The Death of Nature (1980), the exhibition faces criticism for its conventional groupings and display methods. The catalog features Kathryn Yusoff's insights on material relations during the Anthropocene, yet the exhibition struggles to connect with its audience.
Key facts
- RE/SISTERS: A Lens on Gender and Ecology exhibition at the Barbican features 250 works by 50 women and non-binary artists
- Susan Schuppli's COLD RIGHTS (2022) references Inuit activist Sheila Watt-Cloutier's 2005 petition for 'cold rights'
- Taloi Havini's Habitat (2017) documents Bougainville's Panguna copper mine and the Bougainville Civil War (1988-1998)
- Dionne Lee's work references the unfulfilled 1865 promise of 'forty acres and a mule' to freed slaves
- Exhibition draws on ecofeminist texts including Francoise d'Eaubonne's Feminism or Death (1974) and Carolyn Merchant's The Death of Nature (1980)
- Review criticizes exhibition's predictable groupings and traditional white cube display strategies
- Exhibition catalog includes text by Kathryn Yusoff discussing the Anthropocene
- Review references Fred Moten's 2013 interview and Donna J. Haraway's concept of 'staying with the trouble'
Entities
Artists
- Susan Schuppli
- Taloi Havini
- Dionne Lee
- Laura Aguilar
- Ana Mendieta
- Francesca Woodman
- Michel Foucault
- Francoise d'Eaubonne
- Carolyn Merchant
- Sheila Watt-Cloutier
- Kathryn Yusoff
- Ruth Wilson Gilmore
- Fred Moten
- Donna J. Haraway
- Lilly Markaki
Institutions
- Barbican
- Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
Locations
- London
- United Kingdom
- Athens
- Greece
- Bougainville
- Papua New Guinea
- Canada
- USA
- Arctic