Laurie Charles
Another History of Women Doctors, 2022
Watercolour on paper, framed
23 x 16 cm
Unique
Laurie Charles depicts a world that looks different from the one we know today. Charles tells these stories through both image and language, and from a feminist perspective. Rewriting history from a female point of view is a major theme in Laurie Charles’ work. As is a focus on caring for each other. Laurie Charles herself suffers from an autoimmune disease. Perhaps this is precisely why the body and her social approach are so central to her work.
The watercolours in this series consist of reworkings of medieval engravings depicting the history of medicine. Laurie Charles broadly retains the compositions but populates the prints with women. The watercolours tell of the utopian idea of a closed community of women, but also of the historical position of women, who – especially outside the city – relied on themselves and nature to overcome disease. The works rewrite the story of independent women who were marginalised by patriarchy and accused of witchcraft. We see women providing care and healing advice, always in relation to each other – no one is depicted alone.
