Keep Your Timber Limber Exhibition at ICA London Explores Gender and Sexuality Through Drawing

From June 19 to September 8, 2013, the Institute of Contemporary Art in London showcased Keep Your Timber Limber (Works on Paper). This exhibition examined the ways in which drawing has engaged with themes of gender, sexuality, feminism, war, censorship, and race since the 1940s. Featured were Judith Bernstein's anti-war illustrations from the 1970s, which criticized US actions in Iraq and Afghanistan, alongside Margaret Harrison's watercolors depicting cross-dressing superheroes. Cary Kwok contributed ballpoint pen artworks, including Cum to Father (2010) and Blind Date Buffet (2008). Other highlights included Mike Kuchar's fantasy-inspired drawings, Antonio Lopez's fashion illustrations presented without context, Georg Grosz's 1946 Stickmen, and Tom of Finland's pieces from the 1950s to 1970s. The exhibition included eight artists across three and a half rooms, receiving critique for its ambitious nature.