The Disoeuvre: an Argument in 4 Voices (WASL Table); 3:27
The word ‘disoeuvre’ was coined by Felicity Allen as a feminist critique of the politics, fantasies and exclusions of the ‘oeuvre’, a term historically deployed in the description of canonical, male artists. Instead of fixating on a single object or artwork, Allen situates her work within a wider network of connections, conversations and encounters.
In this series of photographs, we see a wooden table manifesting its many roles as a support structure to both her life and her work. It was acquired in 1978 for the Women Artist’s Slide Library but which, for practical reasons, stayed in Allen’s flat and accompanied her throughout her adult life. The photos are accompanied by a series of texts, including quotations from artists and art historians. The photos and texts together create four distinct voices that offer an expanded portrait of the artist and her manifold roles as thinker, artist, maker, mother, friend, organiser and activist.
Photo by Jo Underhill
