Sis Josip Galerie

A Plump Mouthful Is a joined exhibition featuring two young up-and-comers exploring the current
state of the feminine as well as girlhood commodified within the western canon and beyond. Ania
Yilmaz and Isabelle Nair-Lacheta join forces and introduce you to a perspective made up of biting wit
and absolutely magnetic imagery. A kind of glove-smack with a wink attached.
The works are vivid, playful and decidedly feminine. It would not be wrongt to describe them as
confectionary. And while they hold a good amount of humour within them they simultaneously
poses a kind of frankness which is hard to come by in today’s cultural milieu.
Yilmaz sources primarily from the western canon. Often referencing religious scenes from the old
masters to examine our current day predicament. Repetition is an important aspect of her work.
Among a sea of nonchalant heroines there are many smiling Salome’s and even more frowning
Suzanna’s. The women become archetypes expressing varying levels of glee and unease at repeating
patterns. The many angles highlight the complexity of the countless layers that make up her own
perspective on womanhood. A perspective which she has had to uncouple from these influences as
well as those of philosophers like Michel Houellebecq and Slavoj Zizek who also feature. This outlook
she largely shares with Nair-Lacheta.
But while Yilmaz lays the focus mainly with the canonical depictions and subjugation of the feminine,
Nair-Lacheta concentrates more so on contemporary imagery and positions. She takes the viewer by
the hand and leads them into an experience that is equal parts wistful and unsettling. When
observing other people experiencing this augmented reality, you can expect to see a symphony of
facial expressions, raging from airy happiness to outright horror and disgust. The viewer is introduced
to a mixture of archetypes and caricatures present in historical and current day narratives. From the
Bimbo to the Lolita, they all get a voice.
A Plump Mouthful takes these narratives and places the reigns firmly in the hands of the young
women they are depicting. They are expressive, they are colourful and they look you dead in the eye.

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Curator: Yosra Abbady