The Women’s Hour (Third instalment in The Magic Hour exhibition series), solo fantasy art exhibition, Regent Gallery, Preston, Vic, 2022

The Women’s Hour is the third instalment in The Magic Hour exhibition series.

Artist Statement:

“The world doesn’t let girls decide what they want to be. But I can now.” -Arya Stark (Game of

Thrones)

“The Women’s Hour” is the third instalment in Cristina’s “The Magic Hour” exhibition series; the sequel to her 2020 exhibition “The Devil’s Hour”. “The Women’s Hour” explores female identities in mythology, folklore and the fantasy genre over-all as an attempt to discuss feminism in the fantasy genre and how those female roles impact on our view of women in the real world. The exhibition aims to explore various female identities in the fantasy genre from a princess waiting for her prince charming to a knight fighting alongside her male counterparts. This exhibition serves as a stepping stone into further studies on the topic.

The characteristics permitted to fantasy female characters fit between two narrow storyboards, and vary from clumsiness to over-protectiveness (motherly), with a sprinkle of ambition which usually gets interpreted as bossy, over the top and/or evil; anything outside of those ideals is socially unacceptable and distasteful, and in some folklore and mythology, punishable (not always at the hands of male characters as seen in the story of Medusa). The genre’s typical societal structures that socialise these female characters tend to prefer mannerism, compromise, willingness, and a desire to please, in particular, a male counterpart. There’s a certain kind of moral awkwardness and cringe wormed into these stories, with female characters who rebel against those expectations.

This exhibition is not intended to encourage women to rebel or behave traditionally, but rather to inspire you to forge your own path through her (Cristina’s) interpretation of recognisable fantasy characters (that may or may not be traditionally female) and mythology figures in an effort to provide female characters you may or may not have encountered, yet, wish you had or didn’t. It aims to not only challenge society’s viewpoints of female characters in these stories, but to also question the similarities to how we treat women outside of folklore and fairytales and the (often) in-justice that prevails.

This exhibition is dedicated to all the women that have shown me it’s ok to not be a “lady.”