Carey Young's 'Palais de Justice' Video Exhibition at Towner Art Gallery Explores Gender and Legal Authority

Carey Young's solo exhibition at Towner Art Gallery in Eastbourne features her 2017 video 'Palais de Justice', marking her first UK solo show in several years. The video, shot without permission in Brussels's monumental Law Courts, presents a neoclassical building with grey marbled halls and grandiose staircases, where black-gowned figures and security guards are observed. Initially in sober documentary style, it reveals an all-female judiciary through porthole-like courtroom windows, creating an alternative reality where women exclusively control the law. Young's work shifts from corporate culture to legal investigations, referencing Franz Kafka's 1915 parable 'Before the Law' in an accompanying photoseries not displayed here. The exhibition runs from 17 February to 2 June 2019, as reviewed in the April 2019 issue of ArtReview. The video focuses on middle-aged, well-groomed female judges and younger, confident female barristers, highlighting their professional aura and class distinctions. It questions whether gender role-reversal addresses deeper issues of authority and social inequality, with an opening shot of a young black female barrister in impassioned advocacy. Young's earlier 2001 performance involved a corporate speaking coach training her to deliver 'I am a revolutionary' convincingly.