What does the word “crazy” mean when it’s directed towards a woman? For centuries, the female sex has been put down for being seen as “emotional”, “mad”, “crazy” or “irrational”, but have you noticed that their male counterparts are hardly ever labelled in such a way?! A new exhibition curated by Naomi Rubin and opening September 17 in Paris presents ten female artists who each attach their own definition to the word “crazy” and what it means to them.
With no age limit attached to the participating artists, the Not So Crazy Girls exhibition takes the opposite side of prejudice. “Now that pop culture is showing us more and more depressed women on the verge of a nervous breakdown, when Internet memes are adding humor of self-mockery to who we are, unite and identifying us, bringing us closer, now is more than ever the time to talk about it”, says Naomi.
Taking place at the Espace Futur, the exhibition will present work by ten women artists. The artworks on display include a dreamy work by Nazanin Pouyandeh showing two tentacled female lovers embrace, as well as works by Tiffany Bouelle that were inspired by the image and place of women in India.
“Madness according to its context has several meanings”, says Nazanin, “In creation I would say that it is proudly giving voice to what the unconscious wants to express, in an irrational and free way.” Meanwhile, Tiffany describes madness as: “The face of an uncontrolled reality, Evacuation of a demon. A buried reality. A sealed pain. An unfiltered confession. Being haunted. Being overwhelmed by yourself. Losing your ‘me’.”
Let this exhibition challenge your perception of sanity in relation to women. It runs in Paris at Espace Futur between 17 and 23 September 2020
Text Lizzy Vartanian
