The Four Housewives

of the Apocalypse (part deux)

Original exhibition at the Thames Art Gallery, March 14 - May 4, 2014

​

The title of this exhibition comes from a thought I once had. Throughout history, women temporarily took on traditional male roles when sheer numbers were needed, but then had to step aside and resume their expected housewife duties once the goal had been reached. Then the men made the rules.

​

What if every woman were allowed to progress and dominate in traditional male roles (as fighters, in particular), but stopped doing traditional female tasks, such as picking up socks, having babies, sending Christmas and birthday cards, or doing the laundry?

​

My thought was that social order would deteriorate and, eventually, there would be an apocalypse.

​

Each mannequin in this exhibition represents a time of social upheaval during which women were valuable, briefly, as fighters. As you look closely at their costumes, however, their choice of weapons and their clothing reflect the women’s work they were still expected to do.

​

Fiona is a Celtic Warrior Queen, whose traditional role is needlework. She fights by day, and darns socks by night.

Marie is a protester from the French Revolution, but she is still expected to be barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen.

Viola is a Suffragette during the dawn of the Machine Age, but is the perfect and compliant hostess for her husband’s business meetings.

Greta is a menacing soldier from WWII but is still expected to teach, one of few professional (and acceptable) roles available to women at the time.

​

All four Housewives are barefoot.  I feel that women have not yet been allowed to reach their full potential and, thus, fill their own shoes.

 

Laurie Langford

March 2017