Gestures of Retribution:
Amy Carkeek

Gestures of Retribution deliberates the ways in which language and representation are used to undermine women, and in response, can be harnessed as an act of feminist retaliation. In contemplating recent media depictions of women in Australian politics, Gestures of Retribution utilises cameraless photography and appropriation to recontextualise female politicians’ hand gestures. These non-verbal signs have been interpreted as acts of resistance that facilitate female agency.

Initially motivated by a protest placard intended to undermine Australia’s first female Prime Minister Julia Gillard, a text-based work Which Witch? strikes back at the recurring archetype of ‘the witch’― used throughout history to destroy and denigrate women. In reclaiming this historical trope, Gestures of Retribution reiterates women’s collective strength as agitators who stand in opposition to oppressive attitudes and behaviours while questioning the function of the image and everyday language within contemporary Australian politics and media.

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