Lennox Head artist Amanda Bromfield makes a statement about womanhood in her newest exhibition, entitled “Damned Whores and God’s Police”.
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The exhibition at the Lismore Regional Gallery looks at the ways that women are expected to behave.
Before starting the project Bromfield looked at early depictions of the “good” Virgin Mary and the “bad” Mary Magdalene in Renaissance artwork, which was church regulated.
The sculptures are in matching pairs of “whores” and “God’s police”, and are placed on mirrors to show each sculpture from a new angle.
“You can also, just for a minute, see yourself,” Bromfield said about the mirror.
Bromfield often sculpts women, and cites artists Joy Hester and Albert Tucker as inspiration.
Hester and Tucker were at the forefront of Australia’s avante-garde movement in the early 20th century.
While Bromfield is now an artist, she is also a teacher, mother, and breast cancer survivor, and is passionate about female empowerment and ending domestic violence.
“I love Albert Tucker and I haven’t decided whether he really is a total misogynist. I love his work because I love the colours of his work,”
- Bromfield said.
“I don’t like women being the underdog, I want to bring that out so they can be strong and be seen as being strong.”
Bromfield started making art four years ago, and recalls when she was younger that her parents questioned her interest in art.
Today, she is concerned about arts programmes being cut, and blames politicians who “just don’t care” about the arts.
In addition to artwork about women, Bromfield is an environmentalist, with 10 percent of proceeds from her artwork going to Friends of the Koala in Ballina.
Damned Whores and God’s Police will be featured at the Lismore Regional Gallery until the 24th of September.