A group of women are gathered around a stunning watercolour, arguing about all the erections it contains. “It’s nothing you wouldn’t see on ancient Greek pottery,” says one. “I think it symbolises freedom,” ventures another. But Harriet Loffler has reservations. She loves the piece we’re viewing here at Frieze art fair in London: a painting by Chinese artist Shafei Xia featuring a girl boxer, a white tiger with painted red nails, and, yes, a merry procession of breasts and penises erupting from clothes. But is it right for her gallery?
Loffler curates The Women’s Art Collection, at Murray Edwards college in Cambridge. Although the public can visit the collection for free, the building is primarily a place where female students live and work. There are religious sensitivities to think about, not to mention the potential for distraction that could occur. “I’d worry that some students would just find it funny rather than think critically about it,” says WAC assistant curator Laura Moseley.
