Dawn Woolley
THE SUBSTITUTE
2017 A Real Woman
Dawn Woolley
Medium:
Digital and printed billboards
Displayed:
UK-wide, July - August 2024
Artwork Description:
Gendered experiences of visibleness have been the focus of Dawn Woolley’s self-portrait and performance artworks since the late 90s and, for the artist, the need to explore this subject has become more pressing with the rise of smartphones and social networking sites. Both phenomena have contributed to the popularity and pervasiveness of self-portraiture over the past decade, and have enabled the presentation of heavily edited identities and imagery that can not only lead people to judge themselves against impossible standards of femininity (and masculinity) but also make nonconforming bodies hyper-visible to criticism.
In The Substitute, as well as exploring the impact of selfie culture, Woolley spotlights imbalances of power between genders. Replacing herself with a two-dimensional cut-out, head out of sight, she is rendered absent from view and, metaphorically without voice. The visible face of the male figure, positioned above and holding Woolley as he is, represents an asymmetry in terms of gaze and highlights the way women can often be in the position to choose what they look at, but not what or who looks at them.
Artist's Comment:
The Substitute is a critique of how women are represented in adverts, so I’m looking forward to seeing it in those spaces. One of my favourite films is 1989 dystopian cult classic They Live, in which the hero finds a box of sunglasses that reveal the true message of adverts - often 'consume' and 'obey'. I see this as a sort of instruction to artists – to reveal things in our lives that are otherwise obscured, and hope my artwork gives people a moment to think about the adverts they usually see, and whether they depict 'real women' or unachievable ideals.
Bio:
(b. 1980, RAF Wegburg, Germany) is an artist and research fellow at Leeds Arts University. She completed an MA in Photography (2008) and PhD by project in Fine Art (2017) at the Royal College of Art.
Woolley’s research examines contemporary consumerism and the commodified construction of gendered bodies, paying particular attention to the new mechanisms of interaction afforded by social networking sites. Artworks encompassing photography, performance, sculpture, painting, and video appropriate the visual language of popular and commercial culture to examine representations of gender. She explores neoliberal culture using a queer, anti-capitalist lens. It is a form of activism and a feminist critique of representations of gender in commercial and popular culture.
Her academic writing includes the monograph Consuming the Body: Capitalism, Social Media and Commodification, published in 2023 by Bloomsbury. Recent solo exhibitions include; “Joy and Revolution: Rebel Selves”, Diskurs Gallery, Berlin, 2023; “Consumed: Stilled Lives” bildkultur Gallery, Stuttgart, (2022), Perth Centre for Photography, Australia, (2021), and Blenheim Walk Gallery, Leeds (2019); and “Visual Pleasure”, Hippolyte Photography Gallery, Helsinki, Finland (2013), Vilniaus Fotografijos Galerija, Lithuania (2012) and Ffotogallery, Cardiff (2011).
In 2017, The Substitute was named the world’s best selfie by GQ magazine.
