The lick

'The Rise of Women Artists' charts the progress made by female artists from the 16th century up to the present day. Judith Cowan’s sculpture, The Lick, 1999, is shown alongside recent and contemporary artists such as Louise Bourgeois, Paula Rego, Hermione Wiltshire, Christine Borland, Helen Chadwick, Louise Bourgeois and historical artists such as Angelica Kauffmann, Marianne Stokes and Laura Knight. Curated by Dr Laura MacCulloch and drawn from the Walker Gallery’s collection.
The exhibition asks questions such as, does the gender of an artist matter? What is the effect of labeling? What is the significance of the decorative and fine arts co-existing? Cowan’s gesture of impermanence is embodied in the roll of fabric held by the wax cast of her tongue and mouth, like a false moustache. Seen in a perspex box large enough for the whole head, the stranded tongue sticking out is a gesture of the living against death and is the last work seen on leaving the exhibition.