Artist
Martin Firrell
Artist
Artist Bio
Martin Firrell is a British public artist whose works challenge unjust power systems of all kinds, including patriarchal power, the oppression of women and non-heterosexuals, and the heteronormative status quo. He uses language to engage directly with the public, provoking dialogue about more equitable social organisation. The artist’s reported aim is ‘to make the world more humane’.
His work has been summarised as ‘art as debate’.
Artwork Description
‘What Oppresses Us’ depicts ‘manspreading’, banned on Madrid’s public transport on the grounds that it is antisocial behaviour.
But when researchers asked women to rate the attractiveness of men in photographs, those images where the men’s legs were spread apart were rated the most highly.
So, manspreading: antisocial or sexy?
French feminist theory of the 1970s suggests that any oppressor, by definition, has the power to shape all of the responses of the oppressed, including what the oppressed come to regard as desirable.
The artist seems to be implying, ‘We don’t like it, but we like it, don’t we?’
