Woman Artist Vows to Appeal Court Decision on "Discriminatory" Exhibition
Fighting for "the right to make some men uncomfortable"
A Tasmanian artist and the museum housing her work said they will appeal a decision by the country’s civil and administrative tribunal to cease an exhibit deemed discriminatory.
The work, called the “Ladies Lounge,” was created by artist Kirsha Kaechele. The exhibit was housed in Tasmania’s Museum of Old and New Art and was a luxurious space that only allowed guests who identified as a woman. Once inside, they could take in works by the likes of Pablo Picasso while male butlers served champagne.
The museum said the exhibit switches gender roles - evoking in men the lived experience of women being barred from entry in certain male-dominated spaces.
“Ladies Lounge” gained international attention in April 2023 after an Australian man named Jason Lau filed a complaint for not being allowed entry.
As it made its way through the court, Kaechele has maintained her stance and followed the proceedings. She has attended court with a sense of humor, flanked by dozens of women dressed identical and she’d play the song “Simply Irresistible” as they left the court.
Following the lower court’s decision, Kaechele said that she would appeal it up to the Supreme Court.
“I think it’s worth exercising the argument, not only for the Ladies Lounge, but for the good of art, and the law,” she said. “We need to challenge the law to consider a broader reading of its definitions as they apply to art and the impact it has on the world, as well as the right for conceptual art to make some people (men) uncomfortable. Ladies love the Lounge—a space away from men—and given what we have been through for the last several millennia, we need it! We deserve both equal rights and reparations, in the form of unequal rights, or chivalry—for at least 300 years.”
In an interview with the museum on Tuesday, Kaechele seemed that she would be reforming the space as well. She has identified loopholes in the law that allow for gender discrimination, such as religious institutions and bathrooms. In the interview, she floated the idea of bringing bible studies and composting toilets to the space.
“I am genuinely grateful to Mr. Lau for taking the Ladies Lounge to court, so that we may exercise the argument. He is essential to the art, and I would like everyone to leave him alone now and focus instead on the horribleness of men in general.”
Kaechele is also curious about the judge’s role in all of this and questioned whether he might be contributing to the performance aspect of “Ladies Lounge.”
“In his ruling, he compares me to Caravaggio—a great artist but he also murdered someone. I just served ladies champagne,” she said.