Marnya Rothe is a Sydney-based photographer who uses her camera to explore themes of feminism, sexuality and voyeurism. In her exhibition Women in Uniform, which is part of Head On Festival, Rothe “presents portraits of powerful, beautiful women attempting to break the glass ceiling of traditionally male dominated careers such as pilots, trades, the police force and the defence force”.
Rothe’s images are “designed to challenge and explore sexual connotations imposed on women who happen to wear lipstick with their hard-hats, or heels with their suits”.
Of her motivation to create this series she said, “Working as a photographer, I quickly learnt that it is a very male dominated industry. In the past I’ve received sexist remarks and been the victim of sexual vilification not only from men, but from women also; the sentiment often implying, “A young woman doesn’t have the expertise or skills” to carry out the request from said client, male or female. It got me thinking about gender roles and in particular, the roles we all play in traditionally male dominated industries; the struggles women face within those industries. But maybe more interestingly, how we as a wider society view women within male dominated industries. The Captains, the Tradies, the Officer Cadets, the Able Seamen, the Firefighters, the political Ministers.”
“I gave very little direction to the models in the photographs, I let them wear the uniforms and respond naturally. The portraits are dialogues, between the subject and the viewer. Are they sexual objects? Are they weak? Are they powerful? Are they vulnerable? Are they role models?”
EXHIBITION
Women in Uniform
Until 23 May 2013
Gallery: Arthere
126 Regent Street, Redfern
Australia
