THIS WOMAN'S WORK

A playful and thought-provoking exhibition of soft sculptures by Birmingham's Su Richardson, a 'pioneer of feminist art', is making painful female experiences palatable, writes RUTH MILLINGTON

- RUTH MILLINGTON

"TIME was short, so we made little bits on the kitchen table," says Su Richardson, who spent the 1970s juggling her creative practice with domestic responsibilities at home in Birmingham. Some of those "little bits" are now on show at Midlands Arts Centre, where the artist's largest retrospective to date, 'In Stiches, has recently opened.

Lining the gallery's walls are soft sculptures, including one of her more recent works and a highlight of the exhibition, 'Out of the Bag: self portrait' (2022). Dangling from a pink hanger is a crocheted figure whose face has been covered with an eye mask picturing a bright lipstick-red smile and sunglasses. This glamorous guise of femininity has been framed by many a great male artist - and fashion magazine.

But Richardson invites viewers to look down at the woman's sagging breasts and stomach, while her fragile limbs stretch with gravity. Challenging art history's idealised views of female nudity, Richardson has instead portrayed an ageing woman's body. The entire sculpture can be easily folded away into an accompanying bag, symbolising the invisibility of older women, which Richardson herself finds somewhat freeing.