Worldart Gallery: Lady Skollie’s Hottentot Skollie Exhibition

Lady Skollie unpacks gender equality and the fascination with ‘booty’ through the story of Sara Baartman

Artist and gender activist Lady Skollie’s exhibition, titled ‘Hottentot Skollie’, can be seen at the Worldart Gallery until Thursday, 31 March 2016. Her work tells a story about the objectification of women’s bodies through the lens of the ‘Hottentot Venus’ Sara Baartman’s woeful story. 

Taken from Southern Africa by a Scottish doctor because of her steatopygia (large buttocks), Baartman was showcased in human zoo exhibits all over Western Europe in the early 19th century. After the Scottish doctor died in 1814, Baartman lived in poverty and died on the streets of Paris a year later. 

Lady Skollie explains that “booty is a big deal”, and this forms the basis of her latest work. In the selfie generation the medium for objectifying women may have moved from physical exhibits to digital ones but, as she says, “Instagram is technically just another cage, right?”

Sara Baartman is an example of how women were, and in some respects are still seen. Worryingly the idea continues in some circles that the individual is second to her physical features. Baartman embodies not only the objectification of women, but also the perverse racist fascination that possessed Europe for the majority of the 19th century.

A loaded topic, but with Lady Skollie’s creative insights, ‘Hottentot Skollie’ is sure to be a thought-provoking exihibition for anybody interested in history, gender equality or the world’s current obsession with selfies. 

TICKETS, BOOKINGS AND WORLDART GALLERY OPENING TIMES

Entry to the gallery is free! You can catch this exhibition between 10am and 5pm, Monday through Friday, and between 10am and 1pm on Saturdays. Worldart is closed on Sundays and public holidays.

For more information, check out Worldart.co.za or contact Worldart at +27 (0) 21 423 3075.

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