BEDFELLOW | Caroline Tompkins

BEDFELLOW | CAROLINE TOMPKINS
Exhibition + Book Signing
Opening Reception: Saturday, March 4, 6:00–8:00 PM
Exhibition: March 4 –18, 2023

From 2017–2022, Caroline Tompkins made images of her sexual desires and fears, culminating in her recently published book Bedfellow (released by Palm Studios, 2022), in which Tompkins explores the relationship sex has with pleasure and danger. It holds two truths at all times – desiring men while fearing them. The exhibition is comprised of a selection of large-scale images from this work.

” What makes Bedfellow a body of work that can be felt in the body is the way Tompkins uses the power dynamics of binary gender constructs to capture a kind of primal vulnerability, one that transcends gender: the inherent risk of walking around soft creatures in a hard world. Soft vs. hard—the dichotomy can be found in nearly every frame, two opposing forces simultaneously coexisting and threatening each other.” – Gideon Jacobs

“There is an intrinsic relationship women have with sex and fear. Sex can be intoxicating, deeply fulfilling, and a lifelong venture. However, women are also expected to carry the weight of violence on them – violence statistically carried out by men. This violence often occurs in the pursuit of sex and power. We normalize these actions in everyday life by asking women to carry pepper spray, not get too drunk, or text their friends where they’re going to be when they go on a date. This expectation runs in tandem with that of having children and committing to lasting relationships with the opposite sex. I am fascinated by the normalization of this fear and how it affects the way women desire.” - Caroline Tompkins