This exhibition addresses the experience of femininity in the domestic space, and the restrictions and liberation of “women’s work” in Western culture. Thomas is inspired by the ‘Dutch Masters’, famed for their flower paintings. A genre dismissed as hobby rather than mastery when it became a predominantly female practice. Maloney’s work evolved from her interest in domestic photograph albums made by women, often overlooked in the history of photography, and how they can be used to reframe marginalised female narratives.

Both artists favour traditional processes, Thomas a 10x8 plate camera, Maloney a 16mm Bolex camera. The techniques used by the artists honour and echo the traditional ‘crafts’ associated with women, yet the medium of film and photography is primarily considered as masculine. The conflict between masculine and feminine, is felt throughout this collaborative work. The traditionally feminine practices explored in this exhibition can both bind and liberate, speak and silence, but should not be dismissed or forgotten.

Kirsty Thomas and Rachel Maloney are an artist duo who met on the MA Photography course at the University of Brighton.

Their work aligns not only through the analogue methods they use, but the way their practice examines the feminine relationship with looking. How things are ‘seen’, and the authorship of looking have been historically masculine and influenced by the ‘male gaze’. Reflecting on the often patriarchal systems that govern not only the art world, but the visual world, these artists are re-looking at the traditionally feminine and domestic based practices of flower painting (Thomas) and photograph album making (Maloney).