PhD thesis:
On The Brink: Precariousness in British Sculpture by Women, 1979-1993
On the Brink examines women’s contributions to British sculpture between 1979 and 1993 through the lens of precariousness. This generation of women emerged in the wake of post-minimalism and second-wave feminism. Responding to systemic marginalisation and limited resources, they created precarious sculptural forms, forged dynamic networks, and moved fluidly across a spectrum of provisional sites and situations within a developing art world. In bringing art and life into dialogue, this thesis presents a more expansive and embedded analysis of women’s sculptural practices than existing scholarship has provided, thereby repositioning their work at the centre, rather than at the periphery, of late‑twentieth‑century sculptural discourse.
On the Brink is grounded in significant new primary evidence drawn from extensive archival research, detailed oral testimonies and site investigations. Harnessing an inclusive approach to the monograph, this study provides extensive insights into the work of Phyllida Barlow (1944-2023), Shelagh Cluett (1947–2007), Alison Wilding (b. 1948) and Shelagh Wakely (1932–2011) among others, reconstructing and embedding early career trajectories within transnational and intersectional networks of making, exhibiting and exchange. These artists embraced a spirit of ‘wandering’ across local, national and global terrain, embodying restlessness and pursuing liberative transformation. Water provided a source of inspiration, prompting baroque-infused reflections on surface, flow and engulfment. A shared interest in the theatrical encounter manifests in works that perch precariously or occupy the edge of existence through their inherent ephemerality.
In ‘wandering’ with these artists, this thesis undertakes detailed analyses of several key sites where precarious sculpture was debated, produced and circulated, including the short-lease SPACE studios in Wapping, the sculpture department at Chelsea School of Art, Nicola Jacobs Gallery on Cork Street, and the pages of glossy fashion magazines. Reconstructing the networks of these artists also illuminates a generation of creative and enterprising women working in related roles: writers, editors, critics, curators, exhibition organisers, gallerists, and professionals working in marketing and fundraising. This study demonstrates how women harnessed feminist principles to lead their fields, transforming the art world by stealth.
The recency of this history offers a sobering reminder of how women’s histories remain precarious, drifting out of view or disappearing from the art-historical record altogether. In painstakingly restoring the overlooked contributions of this generation of women, On the Brink reframes late-twentieth-century British sculpture not as a linear transfer of power, from New British Sculpture to Young British art, from Lisson Gallery to White Cube, but as a dynamic, contested and collaborative landscape in which women’s innovations were enduring and transformational. Overall, this thesis offers a compelling new model for approaching recent women’s histories, one that amplifies and embeds women’s contributions through the strategic salvage and rigorous analysis of primary evidence, preserving legacies in the nick of time.
School of Languages, Cultures, Art History and Music, University of Birmingham, funded by Midlands4Cities
Supervisors: Dr Greg Salter (University of Birmingham), Professor Michael Hatt (University of Warwick) and, in Year 1, Dr Imogen Racz (University of Coventry).
Examiners: Dr Claire Jones (University of Birmingham) Professor Joy Sleeman (Slade School of Fine Art, London)
