Sarah Lucas @ Tate Britain
28th May 2023 – 14th January 2024
Happy Gas
Sarah Lucas, one of the art worlds’ cherished YBAs.
Provocative, grubby, confrontational, insightful, sex-fuelled and all-round ‘fuck you’ attitude ensured that a trip to Tate Britain was unavoidable.
The first exhibition of her work that I’d seen was back in 2013 at The Whitechapel Gallery. ‘SITUATION Absolute Beach Man Rubble’ was everything I’d hoped for; raw, filthy, funny and awash with visual and linguistic puns. Even the exhibition catalogue – a couple of magazines bound in a cardboard sleeve oozed originality. Fast forward 10 years and ‘Happy Gas’, Tate’s offering was, how shall I put it? A bit crap. It wasn’t all crap, but a lot of it was.
Let’s start with the surroundings. Lucas’ best work is dirty. It holds a mirror up to society’s contradictions, unpicks our misogyny and preconceptions and shoves them in your face. Tate Britain’s galleries were just too nice, too sterile and too safe. There wasn’t going to be any filth, only cheeky innuendo at best.
The first gallery was deceptive. A large picture of ‘Chicken Knickers’ filled the back wall, ‘Bunny’ sat up a corner, ‘Sod You Gits’ the Sunday Sport’s double page spread of the topless midget Sharon was there too as was the brilliant ‘Wanker’.
‘Chicken Knickers’ (1997)
‘Sod You Gits’ (1990)
‘Bunny’ (1997)
‘Wanker’ (1999)
What each does is shine a bright light on our society’s misogynistic gaze on women and/or offers uncomplicated sexual puns. Lucas is a feminist, but one who also interrogates the complexities surrounding it, because a lot of what she produces is simply very funny.
The problems with the exhibition started in the 2nd gallery. A room devoted to Lucas’ ongoing exploration of her signature ‘bunny’. Misshapen limbs and breasts draped over chairs. Her first ‘bunny’ work in 1997 consisted of stuffed women’s tights sitting on a wooden chair. The name ‘bunny’ a deliberate choice, acting as a commentary on the objectification of women as well as confronting traditional notions of beauty and femininity. A whole room filled with a lot of ‘bunnies’ crisply painted and arranged, oh so beautifully, on an assortment of chairs smacked of someone cashing in on a good idea. Bronze cast bunnies are also creeping into Lucas’ oeuvre. I suspect bunnies made of tights were prone to ripping and difficult to keep clean. Bronze cast bunnies are a lot more durable and sellable, because what you get is exactly what you see in a glossy brochure – no messy attempts at having to arrange floppy limbs!
‘Sugar’ (2020)
Winter Song’ (2020)
‘Fat Doris’ (2023)
Lucas’ ‘Eating a Banana’ series of images; are they suggestive or simply of Lucas eating a banana? With these images Lucas forces the viewer to question their own preconceptions about how women are viewed. These are fantastic photographs. The direct to camera gaze of many of them is a ‘what’s it got to do with you?’ stare. Lucas is eating a banana, if the viewer interprets it in a sexual way, then that is a reflection on the viewers’ conditioning. The problem with them sited as a backdrop to the plethora of bunnies is that they became literally and metaphorically wallpaper, losing most of their power.
Installation view
‘Eating a Banana’ (1990)
‘Eating a Banana’ (1990)
The remaining galleries; a collection of different toilets, cigarette installations and more large photographs of Lucas in a haze of smoke. So randomly displayed that their significance was rendered meaningless.
Then there was the catalogue. Of course I bought one, but half the works depicted in the catalogue weren’t in the exhibition and as for its format – well it was just a standard book.
Sarah Lucas’ Whitechapel Gallery Catalogue
Sarah Lucas’ Tate Gallery Catalogue
The first gallery, despite its sterility, wasn’t able to stifle the brilliance of Lucas’ work. So much to see, reflect on and laugh with. In the subsequent galleries, the Tate was able to demonstrate a masterclass in how to dismantle greatness, thereby demonstrating how critical good curation is.
My opinion however appears to be somewhat at odds with that expressed in most newspapers and magazines, so make of that what you will!