GRAB BACK: PES Feminist Incubator, Phase Two
Zoe Buckman: Imprison Her Soft Hand
January 18th - February 18th, 2017

Phase Two of the Feminist Incubator was Imprison Her Soft Hand, a solo exhibition by Zoe Buckman.

Taking both its title and inspiration from John Keats’ Romantic-era poem “Ode on Melancholy,” Imprison Her Soft Hand navigated the complexities of traditional ‘femininity’ and female empowerment. Within this dynamic, Buckman questioned paradoxes with the prescribed characteristics of femininity that continued to be espoused in Western society. For example: women are gentle, yet they are also hysterical; women are nurturing, yet weak; women are chaste, yet seductive. Buckman explored these ideas that were often at odds with each other. Her objects reflected a grossly generalized patriarchal narrative that perpetuated the idea that women are simply a discordant binary of characteristics. Her ‘prettying’ of gender-specific medical objects and imagery, spoke to this complicated narrative around female nature. These works spoke to the idea that in this societal scenario, women were given very little agency or voice to shape a true picture of who or what women are (the answer being that there is no standard for who, what, how, when, or why women are as a collective group). 

Though she had been a long time Keats’ admirer, the artist was unable to resolve the problematic implications of the stanza ‘Or if thy mistress some rich anger shows/ Emprison her soft hand, and let her rave/ And feed deep, deep upon her peerless eyes.’ She used her discontent with this particular element as a departure for general critique on how society has come to view women, both in a historical and contemporary context. By outfitting bunches of boxing gloves in reconstituted wedding dress fabric, Buckman explored the complex aggressions that women face each day. Her use of seemingly discordant textures- ‘tough’ materials such as rough metal with soft ‘feminine’ fabrics, further spoke to this idea, as well as the idea that not only can women be both ‘feminine’ and ‘ferocious’, but that women must be that way. 

The clusters of boxing gloves, Let Her Rave (2016), were not only a symbolic critique of patriarchal structures; but also, reflected her own love of the sport. Buckman has been boxing since 2014 and advocates for women to become more involved in the sport not only as a means of self defence; but also, as a form of physical, emotional, and mental empowerment.

Installation Images by Anthony Alvarez

Photo Credit: Noa Griffel/BFA.com