Holly Hendry is included in 'Breaking the Mould: Sculpture by Women since 1945' Arts Council Collection Touring Exhibition
"Breaking the Mould not only celebrates the strengths of sculpture made by women but also seeks to guard against the threat of slipping out of view."
'Breaking the Mould' is a major touring exhibition which challenges male-dominated narratives of post-war British sculpture by presenting a diverse and significant range of ambitious work by women. The exhibition was initiated in response to 'Women Working in Sculpture from 1960 to the Present Day: Towards a New Lexicon', a research project led by Catherine George (University of Coventry) and Hilary Gresty (independent).
Offering a radical recalibration, 'Breaking the Mould' not only celebrates the strengths of sculpture made by women but also seeks to guard against the threat of slipping out of view. Through this deliberately restorative act, the exhibition seeks to inspire future generations, supporting the maxim ‘if she can see it she can be it’. The show represents the work of over forty-five sculptors including Anthea Alley, Phyllida Barlow, Rana Begum, Helen Chadwick, Alice Channer, Lygia Clark, Shelagh Cluett, Susan Collis, Jane Coyle, Katie Cuddon, Sokari Douglas Camp, Rose Finn-Kelcey, Jessie Flood-Paddock, Elisabeth Frink, Anya Gallaccio, Katherine Gili, Anthea Hamilton, Mona Hatoum, Jann Haworth, Holly Hendry, Barbara Hepworth, Shirazeh Houshiary, Karin Jonzen, Permindar Kaur, Mary Kelly, Liliane Lijn, Kim Lim, Gillian Lowndes, Sarah Lucas, Helen Marten, Mary Martin, Cathy De Monchaux, Lucia Nogueira, Margaret Organ, Emma Park, Cornelia Parker, Amalia Pica, Kathy Prendergast, Eva Rothschild, Meg Rutherford, Veronica Ryan, Grace Schwindt, Wendy Taylor, Hayley Tompkins, Shelagh Wakely, Rebecca Warren, Rachel Whiteread, Alison Wilding and Rosemary Young.
Included in the exhibition is Holly Hendry's 'Gut Feelings (Stromatolith)', 2016, a geological-style cross section that references undersides, be it subterranean or subcutaneous. The work deals with ideas of preservation and putrefaction, ingestion, consumption, accumulation and compression. The sculpture consists of metal props, rock salt, marble chunks and comically sculptural dog chew bones. The white metal framework around the piece supports the cast sections that appear to have been sliced, implying that they are part of a larger system or object. Shapes like bite marks can be discerned in the metal, presenting it as a malleable thing that breaks the rules of the material’s usual properties and function. With organic and synthetic interspersed and their detail exaggerated, the work speaks of accretion, and the idea of the materials that outlive us building up in the world, with nowhere to go.
'Breaking the Mould' is accompanied by a fully-illustrated publication produced by Hayward Gallery Publishing, featuring an essay on the subject by Natalie Rudd, Senior Curator of the Arts Council Collection, and curator of the exhibition, alongside complementary texts from artists, writers and curators exploring the practices of over forty British sculptors, presenting fresh critical thinking on the subject. The book also features a timeline, highlighting key events and developments over the last seventy years.
The exhibition travels to the following institutions: Longside Gallery, Yorkshire Sculpture, England; The New Art Gallery Walsall, Walsall, England; The Levinsky Gallery, The Arts Institute, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, England; Djanogly Gallery, Nottingham, England; Lakeside Arts, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, England and Ferens Art Gallery, Hull, England.
