Paloma Proudfoot • Lay Figure • The Lowry • 23.11.2024–16.02.2025
For Lay Figure, Proudfoot draws on research into the gendered history of medicine, focusing specifically on the treatment of female patients at the Salpêtrière Hospital in 19th-century Paris.
The hospital was a major centre for the study of hysteria, where medical practitioners used artistic and recording techniques—including plaster casts, photography and sound—to diagnose, document and treat patients’ symptoms. Lay Figure questions the perceived reliability and objectivity of these materials. In response, Proudfoot presents an expansive installation of ceramic and mixed-media sculptural reliefs alongside wearable sculptures.
Two performances, created in collaboration with artist and choreographer Aniela Piasecka and composer Ailie Ormston, will bookend the exhibition.
The exhibition is part of “Local/National/International”, a trio of solo exhibitions by Aliyah Hussain, Paloma Proudfoot, and Renee So, curated by Zoe Watson.
For more information on the show, click here.
