Marnie Slater, 2022

Le Madame (Brussels, 1981–1983) (Menu)

43 x 34 cm
Oil on canvas

Le Madame (Brussels 1981-1983) is a series of paintings adapting the artwork on the walls of the former lesbian bar Le Madame, which was open in Brussels between 1981 and 1983. Slater's process began with a collection of photographs taken by a regular customer of the bar, who used her camera to capture her friends socializing at the bar. The photographs were found when the artist was working on the first edition of "Mothers & Daughters: A Lesbian and Trans Bar*" in 2017: a collectively created artwork and accessible, pluralistic space for the LGBTQIA+ community in Brussels. Another influence for Slater's paintings is Marcel Moore and Claude Cahun, two surrealist artist:s, lovers, and stepsisters who created an extensive body of photographic and written work between the 1920s and 1950s that explored the performative expression of gender and identity. Marnie Slater is the 1st winner of the IKOB - Feminist Art Prize 2022, and exhibited this work in the accompanying exhibition.