Talk About My Work at Birmingham Museums

Coming Out, Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, Birmingham Museums & Art Gallery, LGBTI

A talk about my work “Hiding the Wound: Homage to Mr. Freud” was held recently as part of the Coming Out exhibition at Birmingham Museums & Art Gallery. It was given by the very eloquent Andrea Bonnell and attended by a lively audience of staff members and general public. 

I made this piece back in 1979 in response to Freud’s implication that women are “imperfect” and therefore inferior to men. Here, the act of sewing was not only a light-hearted reaction to the female experience of male supremacy but also, and more seriously, a symbolic surgical suture representing the desire for sexual autonomy. But that was then and, I wondered, how would people react nowadays to “Hiding the Wound”?

Andrea’s talk was deservedly a huge success and was followed by some very thought provoking discussions. Some people even took the trouble to leave written comments to be passed on to me. Here’s a selection: “Thank you for being bold and expressive. And for challenging constructs which pass others by. Your works seems even more relevant today and it feels like something which is essential to revisit periodically to redefine its meaning and relevance in the movement.”and “Simplicity and ‘non-drama’ make the piece resonate because female sexuality should not be an issue, nor a trophy for men.”

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Hiding the Wound – Homage to Mr Freud
© www.anniewrightphotography.com

Hiding the Wound – Homage to Mr Freud

Hiding the Wound-Homage to Mr Freud, Coming Out, Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool
© www.anniewrightphotography.com

I’m absolutely delighted that my work Hiding the Wound – Homage to Mr Freud (1979) is part of the Coming Out exhibition, which has just opened at Liverpool’s Walker Art Gallery. The show celebrates the diversity of LBGT voices over the last 50 years since the first steps were taken in the decriminalising of homosexuality in the United Kingdom.

According to the information accompanying Hiding the Wound, “the title of this artwork refers to the psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) It also refers to his theory known as the Oedipus Complex. This suggested that women believed that they had been wounded, or castrated, when they discovered they didn’t have a penis as a child.

“Wright was active in the women’s liberation movement during the 1970s. Her practice at that time explored gender and sexuality through photography and performance. This work, she explains, ‘by means of sewing, a so-called feminine activity, responds to the female experience under male supremacy.'”

For me, it was always a quite light-hearted piece, a visual joke at the expense of Freudian solemnity.

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50 Years of LGBTQ Rights

It's 50 years since the decriminalisation of homosexuality in England and Wales, which was the first step towards LGBTQ rights in the United Kingdom. This will be celebrated in July with a…

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