Hysteria | Florence Peake and Eve Stainton, Slug Horizons (2018)

Florence Peake and Eve Stainton, Slug Horizons, 2018. CoolTan Arts. Commissioned by PS/Y for Hysteria. Photo by Anne Tetzlaff

CoolTan Arts. Part of Hysteria

5 February – 16 February 2018

Although the study of hysteria is multifaceted, historically the term hysteria has been defined by men and associated with women: the male gaze of society observing and analysing women’s bodies and behaviours. Florence Peake and Eve Stainton’s on-going collaborative project Slug Horizons radically reimagines this relationship by exploring the expressive potentialities of women’s bodies through intimacy, touch and collective reclaiming. Their work promotes an emotional landscape of bravery in response to restrictive normative attitudes to the intimate bodies of women.

Through a residency at CoolTan Arts, Peake and Stainton developed their project, holding workshops that invited CoolTan Arts participants and the public into their development process, culminating in a new performance.

PS/Y’s Hysteria is a combined arts programme that explores health and illness in contemporary society, focusing on issues of gender, race and cultural identity. Hysteria is curated by Mette Kjærgaard Præst and takes place in partnership with organisations and institutions across London from August 2017 – April 2018.