CLAUDIA WERCH Should We Be Smiling?, 2022

pencil on paper and perspex 86 x 132 cm

Should we be smiling? portrays my mum smiling, despite being thrust in front of the camera by her male teacher. The clenched hand on her arm is juxtaposed against her innocent smile, making us question the effect of gender inequality and how it continues to dictate our behaviours in society. My artwork interrogates the traditional ideas about gender, specifically looking at the expectations placed on women to obediently accept the authority of men. In revealing the normalcy of being taught to keep smiling through the uncomfortable behaviours of men, my intention was to speak out against the silencing of women.