Media Release

An exhibition exploring the sexual politics of disability

12 June—15 September 2024, Footscray Community Arts

Footscray Community Arts presents a new exhibition, Sutures, by Naarm-based artist Sophie Cassar. On display at the Roslyn Smorgan gallery from 12 June to 15 September, Sutures offers a reflection on desirability politics and the influence of the medical and sexual gaze.  

Sutures emerges from Cassar’s research into online archives of disability-based fetish material. Making reference to niche bondage practices, these works document a performative role-play where plaster casts and leg braces are adopted to imitate the immobilisation of physical disabilities

Through video, artist books and a series of photographs, Cassar explores the exchange of power and consent when a patient submits their body to medical intervention. These works confront the ambiguous distinctions between medical intervention and non-consensual touch.

Artist books featured in the exhibition place photographs from Cassar’s personal archive alongside texts painted in chlorhexidine, a medical antiseptic used for preoperative skin disinfection. This pairing explores the idea of a “perpetual girlhood”, underscoring the persistent intrusion of medical treatment in shaping one’s sexuality and self-perception. 

Sophie Cassar is an artist based in Naarm/Melbourne. Her practice responds to cultural representations of illness and disability through image and text. Recent works have been developed through research into collective disability politics and intergenerational knowledge exchange. Cassar’s work has recently been included in exhibitions at Adelaide Contemporary Experimental, KINGS Artist-Run, Bus Projects and Perth Institute of Contemporary Art.

Footscray Community Arts provides platforms for communities whose stories and experiences are underrepresented in the arts and cultural sectors. Sutures addresses a unique perspective that draws on issues of disability, the medicalised body and sexual politics.

This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its arts funding and advisory body, and Maribyrnong Council’s Western Artist Mentorship Program, with project mentor, Jane Trengove.

Exhibition Dates: 12 June—15 September 2024
Location: Roslyn Smorgan Gallery, Footscray Community Arts, 
45 Moreland Street Footscray

MEDIA ENQUIRIES: Michaela Hall  – 0419 113 633 / michaela.hall@bigpond.com