BOURNEMOUTH.- GIANT is presenting ‘The Opposite of a Feminist’, a solo exhibition of paintings, photographs and films by seminal British artist Sarah Maple. Spanning over 15 years, these are some of the boldest feminist works the artist has ever created, brought together for the first time.

Dubbed “Saatchi-on-Sea” at its launch, GIANT now follows on from inaugural exhibition ‘Big Medicine,’ which featured controversial sculptures by The Chapman Brothers as well as major works by Jim Lambie, Jeremy Deller and Gavin Turk. Here, GIANT makes another brave move, with ’The Opposite of A Feminist’ taking a provocative look at the role of women in the contemporary art world, media and society, through the eyes of one of the naughtiest, wittiest and most reverent artists working today – Sarah Maple.

GIANT itself, a brand-new 15000 sq ft gallery in Bournemouth, occupies the entire second floor of a former Debenhams store, and fittingly the Maple exhibit assumes its position where, just a few months ago, women’s lingerie could be found.

Much of Maple's inspiration originates from being brought up as a Muslim, with parents of mixed religious and cultural backgrounds. Often using herself as a conduit to challenge stereotypes and normative behaviour, Maple is adept at confronting complex issues that we are all often considering - with wit, irony and a startling honesty. However, in this exhibition we focus exclusively on the potent feminist thread within her wider body of work.

“Some of this work has had to be borrowed back from private collections and I am so looking forward to seeing everything in one place again, especially in this incredible space!” --Sarah Maple

Despite its vibrant tech scene (second only to Silicon Valley), its world-renowned orchestra, seven miles of golden sandy beaches and a dynamic arts university, Bournemouth’s visual arts scene has been criticized as somewhat of a ‘cultural desert’. All that has changed, since British artist Stuart Semple founded GIANT over the summer. Its first blockbuster shows attracted more visitors than several major London galleries, including Dulwich Picture Gallery, South London Gallery and Camden Arts Centre, whilst the gallery was heralded as ‘Saatchi on Sea’ by The Times and the town itself as ‘Bournemouth 2.0’ by The Telegraph.




While it proved the point for decentralization, the ability for post-covid high streets to adapt and the power of the arts to re-invigorate communities, it did not come without controversy. Conservative MP Tobias Elwood declared a series of new bronze sculptures based on suicide vests by The Chapman Brothers as ‘Tasteless’ on Sky News and the Daily Mail demanded the exhibition to be cancelled.

It is likely with her outspoken work, direct wit and controversial subject matter that Sarah Maple’s exhibition is set to be just as divisive, if not more so. Encompassing photography, painting, sculpture and film ‘The Opposite of A Feminist’ provokes assumptions, stereotypes and conventions.

The show features key pieces including Menstruate With Pride, a monumental self portrait painting of Maple, blood stained from a period whilst surrounded by colleagues. In Signs, Maple herself can be seen holding three placards reading “I wish I had a penis, because then I’d fuck you, and steal your job” – a work which helped win her the Saatchi New Sensations prize while still a student. More recent works such as 2020’s ‘Sexy Nazi Shark Show’, a sitcom as video art made for Sky Arts (exhibited in its entirety for the first time), show the breadth of Maple’s sense of humour and creative provocation.

Meanwhile, photographic works like her Disney Princess series question notions of archetypal storytelling by recasting well known Disney characters as politicians, scientists and football managers. The central works in the show, Anti Rape Cloak and Freedom of Speech are perhaps the most confrontational. In the latter, a video work in which the artist directly addresses the camera, she begins a feminist polemic only to be slapped repeatedly to the point of tears, silenced by the sting of violence.

Sarah Maple (b.1985) graduated with a BA in fine art from Kingston University, London, in 2007. Recent solo exhibitions held at: Jealous, London (2020), The Untitled Space, New York (2019); KochxBos Gallery, Amsterdam (2021). She has been awarded a Sky Arts Scholarship in 2015 and 4 New Sensation Art Prize in 2007 and has been commissioned by The Baltic, New Art Exchange and Sky Arts.

Sarah's work has been the subject of documentaries including for ARTE and VPRO. In 2015 she released her first book 'You Could Have Done This', a hardback art book of selected works. In 2017 she was invited to Tedx in Birmingham and gave a talk on the importance of free speech in 'The Freedom To Be Challenged'.

In 2015, Sarah was awarded a Sky Academy Arts scholarship from Sky Arts which included funding, mentoring and a Sky Arts documentary. With the scholarship she exhibited a new body of work at New Art Exchange in August 2017. Maple lives and works in Sussex.