| 23 August 2011
400 Women is a memorial to all women. Not only is it a body of works dedicated to individuals who died as subjects of depraved acts of violence, it debunks the sick destruction through reinterpretation. By having almost two hundred other artists get involved to create the pieces, Tamsyn Challenger has generated awareness of the painfully brutal fact that in Mexico hundreds of women are being abused and murdered in epidemic proportions.The show was critically acclaimed earlier this year when it was exhibited in London and it is a ripe opportunity having it here, installed in the dilapidated premises of Canongate Venture. Sensational through humble mediocrity yet so utterly depressing and brutal, the works are thoughtful and sincere without glorifying or sexualizing the immaterial issue that is Woman. What are we doing to women, how can we take care? What is going on?
Perhaps the most powerful element for me was this strange sense of hope I left with. It is as though these reinterpretations are taking care of something. By taking time to pay attention, delegating individuals to individuals, we can try making something better - intimate, personal and tragically universal. On the exhibition guide there are links to charities dedicated to rebuilding the lives of victims. I urge you to donate to The Hester Foundation; visit www.400women.tumblr.com.
Sorry, Martin Creed. If there’s art to see instead of his steps this festival, 400 Women is urgent.
400 Women, Tamsyn Challenger, Canongate Venture, 4 Aug – 4 Sept, Tues – Sun,11am – 7pm
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