Myth world
The Judgement Of Paris, where mortal Paris gets to decide whether a nude Hera, Aphrodite or Athena is best looking, doesn’t sound like obvious feminist fare. Yet, in this take on the myth, Paris kneels small and demure; the women rule.
Hair and now
Instead of the interchangeable eye-candy of old masters, their faces are characterful, their bodies individualised. Somewhat radically, they are shown with pubic hair.
Paranormal activity
This predates the surrealism that would transform Colquhoun’s work in the 1930s. She is perhaps best known as an occultist, a passion that led to her expulsion from the British surrealist group.
Cut and paste
That did nothing to dispel her interest in surrealist techniques, however, which she wrote about in texts with fabulous titles such as Children Of The Mantic Stain.
Part of The Mythic Method, Pallant House Gallery, Chichester, to 19 Feb
