Sarah Lucas Exhibition @ Whitworth Art Gallery

Whitworth Art Gallery is located in Whitworth Park amongst the University of Manchester and opened in 1908. The interior design is light and spacious, perfect to really take in the surrounding pieces on show.

I entered the gallery with a broad mind, uncertain on what to expect. I hadn’t researched what was on prior to arriving and artist Sarah Lucas reminded me that the possibilities really are endless. My first initial thought when walking into her exhibition was ‘Tracey Emin’ and I wasn’t far off. After reading a bit about her, I learnt that she and Emin were friends who owned an art shop in 1993.

Sarah Lucas’s work reflects everything about the advance in confessional and expressive art in the 90’s.

Installations like the one at Whitworth Gallery bares questions in a lot of the public’s minds such as, ‘what is the point?’ and ‘how can this be called art?’ In fact, my partner who accompanied me said just that! Her art, including that exhibited, has a strong aesthetic of sex and relationships. Lucas reveals concern about how we visualise the body, how society stereotypes gender and the problems implicated from this. In my opinion, I understand why some people make these statements about this category of installation art. However, when you see it in front of you, you gain some appreciation. It creates conversation and healthy debate whilst opening minds to look at issues in a different light; or perhaps just gaining interest in someone else’s opinion of them.

With roughly 10 pieces installed, 1 stood out for me. ‘The Stinker’ consists of an imitation of oddly shaped legs spread out across a chair whilst a much bigger phallic cigarette sculpture sits between them. To me, it represents obtrude and obnoxious attitudes males have towards sex. My interpretation concerning the use of cigarettes is that they’re used to reflect her view on men, or perhaps that’s just a thought from my own experiences. Cigarettes in my view are dirty and unattractive and after reading a study from the Tate website about The Stinker, I found that this is the correct interpretation. 

Interestingly however, the knowledge that Lucas commonly uses cigarettes to reflect cravings and pleasure creates a whole different meaning for the installation.

Although I could go on, I conclude, to allow a bit of mystery towards the rest of this exhibition as it is one to visit.