THIS ARTWORK IS NOT FOR SALE

26 minutes of quiet staring is a solo exhibition by Australian textile artist Amelia Dowling. Drawing on theories related to the unconscious mind and intersecting themes of seeing and being seen, Dowling uses text, hand-embroidery and soft sculpture to explore the serious and silly ways we learn to think, behave and survive. 

Using the eye as both a starting point and as a recurring visual and linguistic motif, Dowling has drawn inspiration from theories around the unequal power dynamic of looking, most notably Michel Foucault’s concept of the internal panopticon. Foucault argued that the architecture of a panopticon (a circular prison with a central watchtower where inmates can be seen at all times) is a metaphor for how societies condition us to internalise the disciplinary gaze and regulate our actions to conform to societal expectations. This concept also applies to the way girls are taught from a young age to view, present and police themselves for the ever-present male gaze.  

Dowling interrogates notions of power, agency and control and what it means when the subject of objectification reclaims the gaze and becomes an active observer. As the film-maker Agnès Varda suggests: “The first feminist gesture is to say: “OK, they're looking at me. But I'm looking at them.”

Drawing on psychoanalytic theories of the ‘false and true self’ and the ‘shadow self’, Dowling examines the impact of formative years spent distorting or concealing one's identity as a means of survival. Utilising vintage fabrics, imagery from childhood and the historically-perceived “domestic” nature of craft, Dowling highlights the traits, coping mechanisms and inner voices that we inherit. Incorporating seemingly innocent visual elements like hankies, doilies, circuses and baby animals, Dowling asks – Who can we be when we are finally safe enough to become ourselves?