Paloma Proudfoot • Material Worlds • Hayward Gallery Touring • 09.10.–15.12.2024

Paloma Proudfoot’s work “The Mannequins Reply” (2023) has been acquired by the Arts Council Collection. In this ceramic relief, originally commissioned for the show “Unruly Bodies” at Goldsmiths CCA, Proudfoot explores the role mannequins play in perpetuating myths of idealised beauty. Over the years she has accrued images of mannequins, which are falling apart, broken or repurposed in such a way that disrupts their usual glamour. Drawing on these collected photographs, the work presents a composition of window dummies, breaking away from their usual placid and immaculate appearance. Here they are animated and engaging in power play with each other, each imbued with their own agency

“The Mannequins Reply” is on display at Mead Gallery in Conventry, UK, as part of the Hayward Gallery Touring exhibition ‘Material Worlds: Contemporary Artists and Textiles’, which was curated by Caroline Achaintre. The exhibition will travel around several venues in the UK from October 2024 – May 2026. Next Tour Venues: Djanogly Gallery, Lakeside Arts, Nottingham (May 2025 – July 2025) The Wilson Art Gallery and Museum, Cheltenham (September 2025 – January 2026) Pitzhanger Manor & Gallery, London (January 2026 – May 2026).