VIDEO: Backhand Maiden
Inspired by Pacific heroines, Rosanna Raymond created Backhand Maiden to challenge Western museum norms. The Edwardian-style dress made of Fijian barkcloth acts as an avatar, reclaiming Pacific identity and revitalising forgotten treasures within colonial spaces. In the artist’s words:
Backhand is a grand dame . . . high ranking . . . doesn’t suffer fools . . . she appears to be acculturated but the back is where she gives you the back hand and reveals her tattooed arse . . . a total insult, her true feelings are revealed . . . she may be a lady but has no time for colonial tropes . . . I see her like a trojan horse, as a lady she can go places I can’t but once she is in . . . she has her own sovereignty.
Watch Raymond tell the story of Backhand Maiden, and then see her work on display as part of ’sis: Pacific Art 1980–2023’:
![Rosanna Raymond photographed outside ’sis: Pacific Art 1980–2023’ during the ‘D’actiVAtion’ of Backhand Maiden, as the work enters QAGOMA Collection, GOMA, 31 August 2023 / Photograph: C Callistemon, QAGOMA A performance artist wearing a dress made from barkcloth walks towards an exhibition called 'SIS'](/system/files/styles/wide/private/2024-07/20230831_ccallistemon_BackhandMaidenDActiVAtion_029.jpg?itok=8AlfWj90)
Rosanna Raymond photographed outside ’sis: Pacific Art 1980–2023’ during the ‘D’actiVAtion’ of Backhand Maiden, as the work enters QAGOMA Collection, GOMA, August 2023 / © Rosanna Raymond / Photograph: C Callistemon, QAGOMA
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![Rosanna Raymond performs within ’sis: Pacific Art 1980–2023’, pictured here with works by Jaki-ed weavers, GOMA, August 2023 / Collection: QAGOMA / © The artists / Photograph: C Callistemon, QAGOMA](/system/files/styles/large/private/2024-07/20230831_ccallistemon_BackhandMaidenDActiVAtion_032.jpg?itok=n3xaWCg0)
‘sis: Pacific Art 1980–2023’
Aug 2023 - Sep 2024