Zoë Buckman: Heavy Rag

NEW YORK, NY - Zoë Buckman presents an entirely new installation entitled ‘Heavy Rag’ that addresses motherhood and the domestic sphere as sources of both oppression and empowerment.

In Heavy Rag, the artist has quilted vintage French tea towels into complex and striking patterns that deviate from the familiar red-and-white checkered linen.  Quilted panels completely envelope a boxing punching bag – a recurring element in her work – which hangs in the center of the room as a commanding presence.

Two audio recordings – of Buckman’s training sessions at an underground boxing gym and the artist giving birth – play on a loop in the gallery.  The audio clips are different lengths, at times syncing, mingling, and drowning each other out.   It is not clear whether the voices in the recordings are in pain or ecstasy, yet the combined effects of the sounds elicit a sense of endurance, physical strain, and release.

Buckman’s work is an obvious homage to Louise Bourgeois; to process the fraught emotions of her own mother’s illness, Buckman has drawn strength and inspiration from generations of women’s lived experiences as artists, mothers, and individuals with fears and desires.

ABOUT ZOË BUCKMAN

Zoë Buckman [b. 1985 Hackney, East London] is a multi-disciplinary artist working in sculpture, installation, and photography, exploring themes of Feminism, mortality, and equality.

Buckman’s work has been shown in solo exhibitions including Imprison Her Soft Hand at Project for Empty Space, Newark, Every Curve at PAPILLION ART, Los Angeles and Present Life at Garis & Hahn Gallery, New York.  In February 2018, the Art Production Fund commissioned Buckman’s first public sculpture, Champ, installed on Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood, LA.