Within the Pale in from: Beyond the Pale: the construction of femininity in the curating of an exhibition season at the Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin

In the winter of 1994-1995 the Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin (IMMA) held a season of exhibitions under the umbrella title "from: Beyond the Pale". The publicity for the season high-lighted two issues in particular: the English colonial concept of 'the pale' as it was developed in Dublin, and the positioning of irish culture in relation to this in a post-colonial period; and the importance of the concept of 'the feminine' in contemporary art practices. This paper explores how women and 'the feminine' were positioned by 'from: Beyond the Pale'. It does this in two ways: by analysing the 'framing' of the season - in particular, the publicity leaflets and the catalogue; and by then attending to the curating of the two main exhibitions of the season. Through focussing on this framework (rather than particular exhibits) the paper argues that the season, despite its intentions to the contrary, re-built its own 'pale' and located women and 'the feminine' as occupying an emblematic, 'other,' or 'primitive' position beyond it.