Photographs by Corrado Serra.
“Women have long been treated and portrayed as outcasts, pushed to the fringes of societal order. Throughout the world, women are encouraged to remain silent and obedient or suffer terrible consequences. Combating imposed and constricted perceptions of gender, artists in Outcasts imagine and embody a plethora of empowered identities for women. These voices of resilience are welcome in this divisive time.
Nancy Spero’s prolific oeuvre is the impetus for Outcasts: Women in the Wilderness. She boldly focused on the female figure as protagonist, recreating a mix of multiple historical narratives, ancient mythologies and contemporary events. Three themes that emerge from her work are explored in Outcasts: finding a voice, to express multiple perspectives on female identity; harnessing ancient and modern mythologies to subvert the established social and cultural order; and healing and empowerment of the individual and the community.
Frequently referred to as an oasis, Wave Hill offers refuge—protection or shelter from danger or hardship—and sanctuary—a space conductive to contemplation. In a time of political and social disruption, this place is a haven from tumult.” — Introductory Wall Text
Left: Yee I-Lann , Imagining Pontianak: I’ve Got Sunshine on a Cloudy Day, 2016. Center: Samira Abbasy: Department of Nuclear Medicine — EKG, 2014, Death Mask, 2017, Weeping Wall – (How Do I Look?), 2017
Right: Chitra Ganesh, Untitled, 2017
Left: Chitra Ganesh, Untitled, 2017. Right: Scherezade Garcia, Yemaya II and Yemaya I, 2016
Scherezade Garcia, Left: Yemaya II; Right: Yemaya I, 2016
Marie Watt. Left to right: Companion Species, 2017; Generous Ones (Pink Sky), 2014, Ledger: Predator and Prey, 2015; Skywalker/Skyscraper (Twins), 2014
Left: Fay Ku, Dogwood, 2015 and Third Times the Charm, (or Three Eves), 2016. Right: Nancy Spero, La Folie III, 2002 and Masha Bruskina/Vulture Goddess, 1996
Nancy Spero. Left to right: La Folie III, 2002; Masha Bruskina/Vulture Goddess, 1996; Cumulus, 2000
Installation view of South Gallery
Jaishri Abichandani, Before Kali 70, 2014
Left: Mariam Ghani, photos from the series Landscape Studies: New Mexico. Right: Huma Bhabha, Untitled, 2014
Tracey Moffatt. Top: Night Spirits No. 1 ‘Nunnery in Red, by the Orange Tree in Blue, Desert in Yellow’, 2013. Bottom: Night Spirits No. 2 ‘Over the Bridge in Green, River in Red, Youth in Green’, 2013
Zanele Muholi. Left to right: Thulani I, Paris, 2014; Muholi, Muholi, Amsterdam, 2014
Installation view of South Gallery
Kris Grey. Left to right: Fireplace from Procession series, 2017, Kris Grey under his video, Greenhouse from Procession series, 2017
Wave Hill Sunroom Project Space, through May 21, 2017. Borinquen Gallo, Be(e) Sanctuary, 2017
Borinquen Gallo, Be(e) Sanctuary, 2017
Borinquen Gallo, Be(e) Sanctuary, 2017
Borinquen Gallo, Be(e) Sanctuary, 2017
Borinquen Gallo, Be(e) Sanctuary, 2017
Outcasts: Women in the Wilderness is organized by guest curators Deborah Frizzell and Harry J. Weil, and by Wave Hill Senior Curator Jennifer McGregor and Curator of Visual Arts Gabriel de Guzman. Sunroom Project Space is organized by Gabriel de Guzman, Curator of Visual Arts.