Etchings by L. Wood

Press, 6 February 1986, Page 19

Etchings by L. Wood

“Phoenix Women. Standing and Flying.” Etchings by Linda Wood at the Several Arts Gallery until February 7. Reviewed by John Hurrell.

In an elegant little white room above the Several Arts craft shop is a display of etchings by Linda Wood, who also exhibited paintings late last year in the C.S.A. Three kinds of etching are presented. Those using colour or black-and-white on manufactured paper, and those using coloured inks on handmade paper. They depict simply drawn female figures derived from Munch, and placed in outdoor English settings with ancient tribal stone monuments. The link between feminism and prehistory grew out of the need for feminist artists to search for

models of female experience, these being denied them in conventional art history (i.e., His story).

With the rise of feminism in the late 19605, this need found an outlet in a revisionist view of prehistorical matriarchies, and in ancient religions where women was seen as the dominant deity and where the Earth was seen as a woman’s body. < In one of her works, which depicts the activity of dreaming, Linda Wood is able to juxtapose Taylor’s Mistake with ancient monuments in Sussex. By going back to what the artist considers her origins, she hopes to rise from the ashes like the phoenix and fly again with renewed strength. Technically, as etchings, these works are disappointing. The black-

and-white works lack convincing modelling where it is attempted, or depth in tonal range. The coloured works are more appealing because the softness of hue and delicacy of hand-made paper distracts from the poor drawing. While the presentation of ideas lacks sparkle or credibility (in the case of depicting faraway monuments, that have never been visited), hopefully Wood’s Interest in these political themes will develop. However, printmaking, as a techinque, is such a solitary activity that it seems incongruous to use it to express themes of feminist and tribal solidarity. Maybe there are better ways than static gallery displays to get the message across.