Madison Bycroft, (Un)ladylike acts for every lady lacking (A Gift to the King), 2013, still from single-channel digital video, colour, sound, 3:58 loop, Cruthers Collection of Women's Art, The University of Western Australia. (c) courtesy of the artist.

(Un)ladylike Acts

Recent Acquisitions from the Cruthers Collection of Women's Art

29 August – 5 December 2020

Taking its title from Madison Bycroft's 2013 video work, (Un)ladylike acts for every lady lacking (A Gift to the King), this exhibition features a suite of recent donations and acquisitions from the Cruthers Collection of Women's Art

'Women artists' frequently wrestle with the conundrum of being defined as such, as patriarchal expectations associated with that position can be reinforced by attempts at both celebration and critique. The exhibition features artworks that variously reject, embrace and wield gendered perspectives, offering a provocative survey of attitudes toward art practice and its politics.

Contemporary Australian artists offer insights that result from how they, as women and artists, experience and engage with the world. The painting, knitting, sculpture, photography and video works in (Un)ladylike Acts examine concepts of self-portraiture, performance and visibility.

(Un)ladylike Acts features a selection of work that has recently been added to the collection via the Cultural Gifts Program, acquisition and donation. The collection is the only dedicated public collection of art by Australian women, and is one of three major collections owned by the University of Western Australia.

Kate Just on In my skin

Artist Kate Just discusses her work In my skin (2011) and the different ideas, influences and processes that inform it.