Zoë Buckman (born 13 September 1985) is an English artist, photographer and writer.

Early life

Buckman was born in Hackney,

East London East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the f ...

, England, to Jennie Buckman, an acting teacher and playwright, and Nick Blatchley, a government health official. Her uncle is

Peter Buckman Peter Buckman is an English writer and literary agent. He has been involved in the publishing industry for many years; he was on the editorial board of Penguin Books, and a commissioning editor for the New American Library in New York City. He ...

, an English writer and literary agent.

Artwork

''Heavy Rag''

''Heavy Rag'' examines the dichotomy of boxing, a sport in which gloves are used to harm, as well as for protection. The body of work was Buckman's first exhibition to open since her mother's passing, and was greatly inspired by Louise Bourgeois’ textile works. Although the themes in this exhibition are not very celebratory, the colorful and warm fabrics that Buckman uses throughout her punching bags, glove clusters and flatworks, remind her of her mother and grandmother.

''Present Life''

''Present Life'' examines the temporary nature and beauty of life from the focal-point of the exhibit, Buckman's plastinated placenta. After the birth of Buckman's daughter, Cleo, Buckman was informed that her placenta had deteriorated and could have caused the premature death of her child had she not been born. Buckman preserved her placenta through

plastination Plastination is a technique or process used in anatomy to preserve bodies or body parts, first developed by Gunther von Hagens in 1977. The water and fat are replaced by certain plastics, yielding specimens that can be touched, do not smell or ...

and used the experience to inform her ''Present Life'' art series. In the series, Buckman's plastinated placenta is shown encased in marble.

''Every Curve''

''Every Curve'' brings together Buckman's love of 1990s rap lyrics from

The Notorious B.I.G. Christopher George Latore Wallace (May 21, 1972 – March 9, 1997), better known by his stage names the Notorious B.I.G., Biggie Smalls, or simply Biggie, was an American rapper. Rooted in East Coast hip hop and particularly gangsta ...

and

Tupac Shakur Tupac Amaru Shakur ( ; born Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known as 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He is widely considered one of the most influential rappers of all time. Shakur is among the Li ...

, and her

Feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

ideology through an installation of embroidery on vintage women's lingerie. Buckman hand embroidered rap lyrics onto vintage garments to explore the conflict between feminism and hip-hop. Katherine Fritz of MTV says that the art series explores the dialogue between the misogynistic lyrics within rap and the pro-abortion rights, feminist content found within the text. ''Every Curve'' "illustrates the oppositional perceptions of woman as sexual object, woman as love, and woman as creator; perceptions which, with recourse to history, remain unchanged", stated art critic Hannah-Rosanne Poulton of A Taste for Art.

''Mostly It's Just Uncomfortable''

''Mostly It’s Just Uncomfortable'' is Buckman's response to the political controversy surrounding

Planned Parenthood The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is a nonprofit organization that provides reproductive health care in the United States and globally. It is a tax-exempt corporation under Internal Reve ...

in the United States. The body of work includes gynecological and boxing imagery and objects. Two of the neon works from the series, ''Champion'' and ''Champ'' have been featured in the inaugural exhibition of For Freedoms, an artist-run Super PAC, at Jack Shainman Gallery and

Rock The Vote Rock the Vote is a non-profit progressive-aligned organization in the United States whose stated mission is "to engage and build the political power of young Americans." The organization was founded in 1990 by Virgin Records America Co-Chairman ...

's ''Truth to Power'' exhibition at the 2016

Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 ...

(DNC) in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

''Let Her Rave''

''Let Her Rave'' is a response to a line in

Keats John Keats (31 October 1795 – 23 February 1821) was an English poet of the second generation of Romantic poets, with Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley. His poems had been in publication for less than four years when he died of tuberculos ...

’ poem

Ode on Melancholy "Ode on Melancholy" is one of five odes composed by English poet John Keats in the spring of 1819, along with "Ode on a Grecian Urn", "Ode to a Nightingale", "Ode on Indolence", and "Ode to Psyche". The narrative of the poem describes the poet's ...

. The work in this series is about the society’s control of women and their bodies through patriarchal constructs. Though she has been a long time Keats’ admirer, the artist was unable to resolve the line ‘Or if thy mistress some rich anger shows / Imprison her soft hand, and let her rave.’ Sculptures of boxing gloves trimmed with vintage wedding dresses that hang from the ceiling as well as a powerful neon adorned with wedding veils explore the complex aggressions that women face each day and the idea that they must fight in response. Further in terms of matrimony they suggest the weight, strength, and delicacy of marriage and its impact on womanhood.

Collaborations and public projects

Buckman is a member of For Freedoms, the first artist-run Super PAC founded by artists

Eric Gottesman Everything Goes Cold is an American industrial band from California. Their lead singer, Eric Gottesman, is notable as a founding member of Industrial Metal band Psyclon Nine, and a live musician with Ayria, Caustic, XP8, Unter Null, and a number ...

and

Hank Willis Thomas Hank Willis Thomas (born 1976 in Plainfield, New Jersey; lives and works in Brooklyn, NY) is an American conceptual artist working primarily with themes related to identity, history, and popular culture. Early life and education Hank Willis Th ...

. She has participated in several projects with the organization including an exhibition at Jack Shainman,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, NY; a bus bench with Monique Meloche Gallery,

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, IL; a billboard -‘’Grab ‘Em By the Ballots’’ – in

Harrisburg Harrisburg is the capital city of the Pennsylvania, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the List of c ...

, PA; and a political campaign advertisement for ''

W Magazine ''W'' is an American fashion magazine that features stories about style through the lens of culture, fashion, art, celebrity, and film. W was created in 1972 by James Brady, the publisher of sister magazine ''Women's Wear Daily'' (''WWD''), ori ...

'' featuring

Jemima Kirke Jemima Jo M Kirke (born 26 April 1985) is a British-American artist, actress and director. She gained international acclaim through her role as Jessa Johansson on the HBO series ''Girls''. She made her film debut in the 2005 indie short '' Smil ...

. Buckman and

Natalie Frank Natalie Frank {b. 1980) is an American artist currently living and working in New York City. Her work deals with themes of power, sexuality, gender, feminism, and identity. Although Frank is best known as a painter, she has also explored other me ...

collaborated on Buckman's first public project, a mural at

New York Live Arts New York Live Arts (Live Arts) is a movement-focused arts organization in New York City that serves as the home of the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company. The building was formerly the home of Dance Theatre Workshop, with which the Bill T. ...

during spring 2017 titled ''We Hold These Truths To Be Self-Evident''. The piece was a response to election of

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

and it utilizes misogynistic text gathered from statements that former and current male politicians have made about women and their bodies.

Personal life

In 2010 Buckman married

David Schwimmer David Lawrence Schwimmer (born November 2, 1966) is an American actor, director and producer. He gained worldwide recognition for portraying Ross Geller in the sitcom '' Friends'', for which he received a Screen Actors Guild Award and a Prime ...

. They had a daughter in 2011, and in 2017 they separated, then divorced.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Buckman, Zoe 1985 births Living people English women photographers British women artists People from the London Borough of Hackney