Dimensions: image: 735 x 592 mm frame: 910 x 650 x 33 mm
Copyright: © Sarah Lucas | CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED, Photo: Tate
Curator: This photograph, simply titled "Smoking," is by the British artist Sarah Lucas. It’s part of the Tate collection. Editor: The first thing that strikes me is the vulnerability. The upward angle, the smoke curling up… there's a rawness to it. Curator: Lucas often employs everyday materials and gestures. Here, the act of smoking becomes a sort of performance, a commentary on gender roles and expectations. The labor is understated. Editor: It’s interesting how the photograph, despite its simplicity, challenges the idealised female image so pervasive in art history. How societal expectations of women are literally upturned. Curator: Precisely. Consider the socio-political context in which Lucas was working—a time of challenging norms and redefining boundaries. Editor: It makes you think about the power of simple materials to convey complex ideas. Curator: Indeed, an image to reflect on. Editor: A thought-provoking piece.
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Since the early 1990s Sarah Lucas has challenged sexual stereotypes in a variety of provocative works. In this series of self-portraits she turns against the art-historical tradition of the female seductress or muse, and presents herself in a deliberately androgynous, and occasionally aggressive, series of poses. She adopts masculine gestures and stances, and shows herself in unisex clothing like jeans and T-shirts. These images also raise questions about the role and appearance of the modern artist. In contrast to the cliché of the artist as an anguished male, Lucas shows herself as an ordinary person in emphatically ordinary surroundings. Gallery label, August 2004
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