Bouffant*

 

Puffed plumped sleek hair, a run down mascara, 

No.

Puffed plumped sleek hair, smooshed lips,

No.

Puffed plumped sleek hair, hairspray,

No. 

Tangled - Teased.

Wellfucked.

 

The exhibition of Sarah Lewis dwells into the aftermath of experiences of position of untamed and unapologetic - signifying a women’s right to claim autonomy over her sexuality outside the acceptable tropes. 

 

“We have been raised to fear the yes within ourselves, our deepest cravings. For the demands of our released expectations lead us inevitably into actions which will help bring our lives into accordance with our needs, our knowledge, our desires. And the fear of our deepest cravings keeps them suspect, keeps us docile and loyal and obedient, and leads us to settle for or accept many facets of our oppression as women.”

 

Audre Lorde, The Erotic as Power

 

The intimacy of the encounter is revealed with the image being ‘snapped’.

 

Sarah Lewis is a London-based filmmaker and interdisciplinary artist with an MA in Artists Film and Moving Image from Goldsmiths College, London. She works in the fields of narrative film, video art and installation. Her work has been presented theatrically, via broadcast, and in art galleries and she is a co-founder of Ballpark Collective, creating opportunities for moving-image artists. Her first documentary ‘Crowded House’ (30 mins) was commissioned by Channel 4 and her short film ‘The Staring Girl’ showed at film festivals internationally. Her feature length documentary “No Ifs Or Buts’ premiered at the BFI London Film Festival in 2018 and the reedited version was invited to be part of Locarno Pro 2023 where it won the 'Jannuzzi Smith' and 'Le Film Français' awards.
As artist-in-residence at the Pavilion school for disengaged youth in Melbourne her work with the students culminated in a show at the Centre for Contemporary Photography (Melbourne). She has also worked extensively with the South Sudanese refugee community which lead to directing an ongoing documentary about the life of David Vincent who was resettled in Australia. www.theboywhowouldntdie.com She was co-founder of the arts initiative www.iamapeacesoldier.com which was focussed on the South Sudanese community supported by RMIT University and OXFAM.