Feminist art in the 1970s and 1980s in Australia

Presented in association with the 2011 Melbourne Festival, the latest exhibition from the Monash University Museum of Art (MUMA) continues the gallery's commitment to considering the recent history of contemporary art since the 1960s.

A Different Temporality: Aspects of Australian Feminist Art Practice 1975-1985 brings together feminist approaches to temporality in the visual arts, with a focus on the late 1970s and early 1980s in Australia.

Rather than simply presenting a summary of feminist practice at the time, the selected works reflect prevalent debates and modes of practice. They focus upon dematerialisation of the art object, the role of film theory, and the adoption of diaristic and durational modes of practice, including performance, photography and film.

The exhibition presents the work of Micky Allan, Janet Burchill and Jennifer McCamley, Bonita Ely, Sue Ford, Helen Grace, Lyndal Jones and Jenny Watson.

According to Max Delany, director of MUMA, the exhibition is long overdue.

“Focussing on a critical, albeit under-represented, period in recent contemporary art practice, A Different Temporality invokes a radical history and dynamic body of work, of particular relevance to the social turn in current art practice, which we hope will stimulate new debates and further action and reflection,” Mr Delany said.

A Different Temporality presents a diverse selection of art that engages with the concept of temporality as both metaphor and subject.  While it might not openly exemplify an overriding logic, the collection illustrates various feminist approaches to history, as well as repetition and flow, and the concept of cinematic montage - which continue to resonate in the present.

Dr Kyla McFarlane, exhibition curator said the artists represented in the exhibition shared an interest in time, seen through the adoption of mediums including film and performance, which places them at the forefront of innovative art practice.

“The diverse – sometimes oppositional – approaches to political and cultural debates by these women artists shows us something of the complex recent history of feminist art practice in Australia,” Dr McFarlane said.

A Different Temporality: Aspects of Australian Feminist Art Practice will be on display at Monash University Museum of Art (MUMA), Caulfield campus from 13 October 2011.

For further information visit MUMA Exhibitions.

For bookings and enquiries contact muma@monash.edu or phone 03 9905 4217.