Rose ENGLISH British, b. 1950
Untitled, 1969/70
Jigsaw cut plywood in three parts
(white emulsion undercoat, painted with gouache and ink, polyurethane varnish and two adhered liquorice allsorts)
(white emulsion undercoat, painted with gouache and ink, polyurethane varnish and two adhered liquorice allsorts)
Three pieces together: 43 x 23.3 x 1 cm
Perhaps Britain’s most pioneering performance artist, Rose English’s Untitled (1969/70), is an incredibly early work in her oeuvre, made while still a student at Leeds Polytechnic. A reflection on female...
Perhaps Britain’s most pioneering performance artist, Rose English’s Untitled (1969/70), is an incredibly early work in her oeuvre, made while still a student at Leeds Polytechnic.
A reflection on female fertility, this three-part painted work is Rose’s personal statement on the time-restraints and biological and emotional pressure on women to bear children. The two round “ovaries” are shown as liquorice allsorts—a British confectionary which has small circular blue ’sprinkles’ decorating them (the ‘eggs’). As anticipated, these have degraded with time, a reference to a woman’s declining fertility window as she ages.
A reflection on female fertility, this three-part painted work is Rose’s personal statement on the time-restraints and biological and emotional pressure on women to bear children. The two round “ovaries” are shown as liquorice allsorts—a British confectionary which has small circular blue ’sprinkles’ decorating them (the ‘eggs’). As anticipated, these have degraded with time, a reference to a woman’s declining fertility window as she ages.