Foreword

In the seventh issue of Aspectus, we are pleased to present a diverse collection of articles, conversations and reviews that explore the intersections of art, theory, history, gender, architecture and cultural narratives. These works, contributed by students, scholars, and curatorial professionals embody our commitment to fostering critical dialogue across diverse historical periods and cultural contexts. We owe a great deal of gratitude to all the peer reviewers for their valuable insights. Sincere thanks also go to our university and faculty for their support and guidance throughout this process, particularly to Professor Michael White, Head of Department and Dr James Boaden, Director of Research.

Issue VII brings together a set of contributions that foreground questions of gender, identity and cultural memory across diverse artistic and historical contexts. The issue opens with Archiving Feminism: Cooperativa Beato Angelico, Suzanne Santoro, and the Casa Internazionale delle Donne, an article that examines feminist artistic networks and the politics of preservation. This is followed by an in-conversation piece reflecting on the recent Leigh Bowery exhibition at Tate, stimulating conversations that can emerge when art institutions foreground unconventional creative practices, inviting audiences to reconsider what exhibition-making can be. The issue also includes reviews of three recent publications, The Conformed Body: Contemporary Art in China, Unruly Monuments: Disrupting the State at Delhi’s Islamic Architecture, and Fail Better: Reckonings with Artists and Critics, each offering new perspectives on the relationship between art, power and critique. Two exhibition reviews, Turner: In Light and Shade and Journeys with Te tere o Mai, consider how curatorial practices illuminate shifting narratives of landscape and culture. Spanning multiple geographies, methodologies and periods, these contributions collectively reflect on how material and visual cultures both articulate and challenge the social and political conditions in which they emerge. 

We hope this edition inspires readers to reflect more deeply on the complex historical narratives and cultural identities that continue to influence our contemporary world. Thank you for reading, and we look forward to your continued engagement.

Signed,

Georgia Gerson & Isaac Nugent

Editors-in-Chief, 2024-2025