Simone Rocha is curating an exhibition of the female gaze in Waterford

Irish designer Simone Rocha has curated her first contemporary art show, a project that has been two years in the making. The exhibition girls girls girls assembles a group of artists “reflecting a female viewpoint today” and opens at Lismore Castle, Waterford on April 2.

“I wanted to invite a group of artists who inspire, challenge and engage with femininity and its subversive characteristics, reflecting a female viewpoint today,” says Simone Rocha. “There is a contrast of forms and media – art, sculpture and photography – and I am interested in exploring how the works engage with each other. This engagement could be read in multiple ways: as a thread of the natural world running through the works, uncanny self-portraiture or the sense of a haunting reality lingering just below the surface.”

The show, “celebrating a diverse range of approaches in an exhibition centering on female practices,” gathers work from prominent artists like Cindy Sherman and Roni Horn to a newer generation including Sophie Barber, Elene Chantladze, Luo Yang and Genieve Figgis.

Like her own pieces, the exhibition is a reflection of the power and vulnerability of femininity. “I want the exhibition to be an exploration of femininity in an honest way by having the presence of each artist in the room together, with their multiple viewpoints, and bringing their works into conversation with each other. The female spirit and experience has been a strong focus of my work from the beginning. My engagement with femininity must also always have a balance – traditional craft techniques versus masculine tailoring, natural forms vs man-made. I am always pushing to make something traditionally feminine in a modern, off-kilter world”.

girls girls girls runs from April 02 to October 30 at Lismore Castle.

Photography by H&M.