Andrea Cardow
G.L.O.R.I.A., 2022
screenprint
72 x 52 cm
28 3/8 x 20 1/2 in
28 3/8 x 20 1/2 in
varied edition of 24
Courtesy of Glasgow Print Studio - Please note, this work is owned and printed by the artist. Such works may occasionally be unavailable at the time of purchase or enquiry.
Further images
This print was created in conjunction with the Glasgow Print Studio 50th Anniversary Here & Now Legacy Project. G.L.O.R.I.A. is the first in ‘We Are’, a series of portraits of...
This print was created in conjunction with the Glasgow Print Studio 50th Anniversary Here & Now Legacy Project. G.L.O.R.I.A. is the first in ‘We Are’, a series of portraits of inspiring women. It presents an appealing image, something that draws the viewer’s gaze but at the same time challenges it. The work is to provoke questions around attitudes towards women, and accepted norms in how they were, and are, represented in society, in the media and in cultural histories.
G.L.O.R.I.A. is a portrait of Gloria Steinem. Before becoming a leading figure in the fight to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment in America, she was a Playboy Bunny (albeit whilst writing an exposé). It is created using multiple layers; gold and bronze inks are layered over matt opaque inks to give a changing view of the work as the light reflects off the metallic inks. Depending on where the viewer stands, the light reflection either shows the detail or it reflects the light and solarises the image, almost making it disappear. The idea is that the image presented to us of anyone, by someone or something else, is subject to interpretation and bias so there is no definitive way to represent anyone. This is important in the history of women’s rights. Women have had to fight to be seen and heard and not be misrepresented. In this way, the technique used is dealing with themes of presence and absence - in what is given to us as a representation or account of someone’s life or actions. Aligned with this is the text. It is my own. It is to define a message of female will and the possibilities of this. The juxtaposition of a beautiful image of a woman with the message in the text is intended to recognise the subject’s humanity and as such, their fallibility, whilst ensuring that the possibilities their lived life created are dominant.
Andrea McIlhatton Cardow was born in the village of Plains, outside Airdrie, in 1969. She completed a Master of Arts undergraduate degree in 1990 and went on to obtain a Post-Graduate Certificate in Education in 1992. She was awarded chartered status in 2006 and the award of Professional Recognition in 2014 by the Scottish teaching regulatory body. In the same year, she obtained a masters’ degree in Inclusion: Research, Policy & Practice from Glasgow University. She works full time as an Education Officer in North Lanarkshire Council and teaches part-time in the College of Social Sciences at Glasgow University. She has completed courses in various artistic disciplines at Glasgow School of Art and in printmaking at Glasgow Print Studio, of which she has been a member since 2014. Her academic focus on diversity and women's rights is evident in her art. The workshops at Glasgow Print Studio have been central in allowing her to channel her creative thinking and ideas using traditional printing techniques and equipment. Cardow has exhibited in Glasgow Print Studio and sells work through the studio shop. She works predominantly in screenprint, which she uses to explore conceptions and representations of women. The intention is to question ways in which women are represented and to highlight their rights.
G.L.O.R.I.A. is a portrait of Gloria Steinem. Before becoming a leading figure in the fight to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment in America, she was a Playboy Bunny (albeit whilst writing an exposé). It is created using multiple layers; gold and bronze inks are layered over matt opaque inks to give a changing view of the work as the light reflects off the metallic inks. Depending on where the viewer stands, the light reflection either shows the detail or it reflects the light and solarises the image, almost making it disappear. The idea is that the image presented to us of anyone, by someone or something else, is subject to interpretation and bias so there is no definitive way to represent anyone. This is important in the history of women’s rights. Women have had to fight to be seen and heard and not be misrepresented. In this way, the technique used is dealing with themes of presence and absence - in what is given to us as a representation or account of someone’s life or actions. Aligned with this is the text. It is my own. It is to define a message of female will and the possibilities of this. The juxtaposition of a beautiful image of a woman with the message in the text is intended to recognise the subject’s humanity and as such, their fallibility, whilst ensuring that the possibilities their lived life created are dominant.
Andrea McIlhatton Cardow was born in the village of Plains, outside Airdrie, in 1969. She completed a Master of Arts undergraduate degree in 1990 and went on to obtain a Post-Graduate Certificate in Education in 1992. She was awarded chartered status in 2006 and the award of Professional Recognition in 2014 by the Scottish teaching regulatory body. In the same year, she obtained a masters’ degree in Inclusion: Research, Policy & Practice from Glasgow University. She works full time as an Education Officer in North Lanarkshire Council and teaches part-time in the College of Social Sciences at Glasgow University. She has completed courses in various artistic disciplines at Glasgow School of Art and in printmaking at Glasgow Print Studio, of which she has been a member since 2014. Her academic focus on diversity and women's rights is evident in her art. The workshops at Glasgow Print Studio have been central in allowing her to channel her creative thinking and ideas using traditional printing techniques and equipment. Cardow has exhibited in Glasgow Print Studio and sells work through the studio shop. She works predominantly in screenprint, which she uses to explore conceptions and representations of women. The intention is to question ways in which women are represented and to highlight their rights.
