Gorge!

Exhibitions are open Wed – Sun (10am-5pm)

Summerhall Arts presents Hattie Quigley’s ‘Gorge!’ an exhibition that aims to immerse the viewer into a liberated land of hedonistic chaos. Exploring the relationship between femininity, food and female desire, her work not only poses the question of what it means to be a hungry woman in contemporary society; but highlights and critiques the gluttony of the world we live in. Large scale, deliciously saturated paintings and sculpture  depict the aftermath of a mythical feast of excess, loosely inspired by the first versions of classical bacchanalia (wild drunken roman parties which originated as women only!). For the ancients, these bacchanals symbolised the perceived dangers of women unrestrained by male authority— offering a glimpse into the freedom and liberation of life as an unbound maenad in a patriarchal world.

Engaging with the current rise in right wing politics and weight loss jabs, it is even more political to talk about women who are unashamedly insatiable. Gluttony is a theme used to explore expectations put on our bodies (specifically in an age of digital media ‘clean’ eating and youth binge drinking rituals). Our overindulgent society’s tummy rumbles, and continues to be hell bent on wanting women to be as small as possible. 

The in Vitro gallery space is turned into an extravagant exploration of bodies, class, gender, power, obsession, and desire, dealing with capitalism and consumerism, dancing around the deliciousness of what painting is in its very essence. 

This exhibition marks the second annual collaboration between Summerhall Arts and  Edinburgh College of Art (BA Painting). Proposals were invited from Final Year painting students at ECA in response to the In Vitro gallery space & the winner selected by Sam Chapman at Summerhall Arts. The process gave all those participating valuable insight into real life scenarios in regard to the dissemination of their practice, and signifies further partnership between two of Edinburgh’s key artistic generators.