From May 16 – June 8, Art-Work Studios proudly hosted Tal Fitzpatrick’s first Gold Coast solo exhibition Quietly Seething, a new body of work exploring the power and pain of feminine rage.
Drawing inspiration from her own experiences, from conversations with friends and from stories collected via an anonymous survey, Tal makes use of the gentle and familiar textures of cloth to tackle the challenging emotional landscape of anger.
Through Tal's signature textile banners and text-based wall hangings, this exhibition dares to ask its female-identifying audience: Are you quietly seething? Answering back in a soft, comforting voice: It’s okay, I’m angry too.
Thank you to our community, old and new, who came to support and celebrate Tal’s body of work, as well as that of Gold Coast-based musician Eimhin Healy who debuted two new songs at the opening event on May 26. It was both hugely powerful and intimate to experience both Quietly Seething and Eimhin’s sound together in our gallery. For those who couldn’t make it to the show, we have shared some of the words from Tal’s opening speech below to bring the feelings and sentiments of the artist into clarity.
“There is another kind of anger, that is much less aspirational… and much more gendered. This type of anger is the kind that women will only speak about with one or two other people, and even then they will only do so when they are in absolute crisis.
This type of anger is a quiet, shameful and ugly;
This anger feels like failure;
It’s being mad about the unequal distribution of domestic labour;
It’s cracking under the pressures of motherhood;
It’s not being taken seriously in the workplace;
It’s meeting everyone else’s needs while your own go unspoken and unmet;
It’s being furious at always having to be the bigger person;
It’s smiling politely while people constantly making comments about your body;
It’s that feeling that all of a sudden, you’re not safe - whether you’re walking home alone, or in your domestic setting with the people you love;
It’s being hurt, heartbroken, or grieving and knowing you have no option but to go on and pretend everything is fine;
It’s being angry at yourself for not being good enough, smart enough, ambitious enough, pretty enough, for being selfish, impatient or unkind, for saying yes when you didn’t want to, for betraying yourself, for being a bad daughter, sibling, partner, mother… person.
It’s secret. ”
““This project began when I was asked to reflect on what drives me to make art, and I realised that what really motivates me to create – whether it’s just for myself or if it’s organising large-scale collaborative and participatory craftivism projects – is that I’m angry.
In the past, my art has been driven by that righteous kind of anger that we all feel good about… Anger about injustice and incompetence, about gender-based violence and environmental destruction. This anger is the bread and butter of all activists and changemakers.” ”
This project is supported by the City of Gold Coast Regional Arts Development Fund.
'Quietly Seething' is proudly sponsored by Gage Roads Brew Co, Konpira Maru Wine Company and Altina Drinks.
“Keep my anger from becoming meanness
Keep my sorrow from collapsing into self-pity
Keep my heart soft enough to keep breaking
Keep my anger turned towards justice, not cruelty
Remind me that all of this, every bit of it is for love. ”
