NEWS: Can You Forgive Her? @ Drop City, Newcastle

How can we give form to the history of women artists, who were significant yet under-recognised in their own time? This is one of the questions posed by artist Nadia Hebson in Can You Forgive Her? the second exhibition at the recently-founded Drop City exhibition space in Newcastle. In previous work, Hebson used “subjective biography,” an approach inspired by the novel The Quest for Christa T, to interpret the legacy of post-war British painter Winifred Knights. In Can You Forgive Her? Hebson will apply this same method of “subjective biography” to examine the work of painter Christina Ramberg, who was best-known for depicting female torsos trapped in the restrictive undergarments known as “Merry Widows” popular in the 1950s. Hebson’s own work also references different types of dress, her intention being to explore and understand the relationship between painting, biography, persona and clothing.

Can You Forgive Her? runs from 11 December 2014 – 24 January 2015 at Drop City, 20 South Street off Forth Street, Newcastle upon Tyne. As a way of encouraging a more direct relationship between audience and exhibition, Drop City is open by appointment only, so visit their website for more information and to book.