January 22, 2016
People with an interest in Australian women’s fashions only have until the end of the month to see a highly unusual show at the Wondai Regional Art Gallery.
The Gallery will be displaying “Sweethearts, Wives and Damned Whores” – a vintage fashion exhibition put together by Linda Silburn which fills all three galleries – until the end of January.
“Sweethearts and wives were the only acceptable roles “good and obedient” women were allowed to hold in Australian society from the earliest convict times until Women’s Lib arrived,” Linda said.
“And “damned whore” was the insult hurled at any woman who dared to step outside the box.”
The exhibition chronicles the fashions of women who risked everything to follow their dreams outside social conventions, and sometimes even the law.
It shows the clothing worn by soldiers, scientists, revolutionaries, suffragettes, doctors, farmers, politicians, sports champions, arch-criminals, investigators, entrepreneurs and artists, and allows visitors to get a glimpse into the lives of the women who helped make Australia.
“It includes everything from corsets to combat helmets, and rats in the hair to birdcages on the butt,” Linda said.
Visitors can have fun with this interactive exhibition by trying on a corset or hat.
There’s also a trivia competition to tax your brain – for example, at which Olympics did Australian women first win gold? And why did children in the 1860s think their mothers had no legs, but ran on wheels?
- “Sweethearts, Wives and Damned Whores” will be on display at the Wondai Regional Art Gallery on the roundabout at Wondai from 10:00am to 4:00pm daily until the end of the month. Admission to view the exhibition is free.
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