The exhibition, called “In the beginning, there was Football”, was launched on the eve of the World ... [+]
With an aim to explore the significance of football in society through art, Romi Studio has launched an online exhibition focusing on the Women’s World Cup where ten artists, including New Zealand forward Hannah Wilkinson, have showcased their work.
The exhibition, called “In the beginning, there was Football”, was launched on the eve of the World Cup, which kicked off in Australia and New Zealand last month and is currently in its Round of 16 stages.
According to the Brooklyn-based studio, “In the beginning” alludes to a genesis of time and “there was Football” alludes to the disruption and transformation that ensues.
Romina Jimenez Alvarez, founder and director of the studio, said the artists and the Women’s World Cup inspired the exhibition, which will run until September 20.
“The concept was simple: ten artists for ten players on the field, while the viewer assumes the active role as the eleventh player — akin to a vigilant goalkeeper — holding the greatest vantage point and liable for the game’s outcome,” Jimenez Alvarez told Forbes in an interview.
The ten artists who have showcased their work at the exhibition.
The exhibition has brought together people who are passionate about football, art, or both, Jimenez Alvarez adds. It invites viewers to reflect on the interconnectedness of the 90-minute game within the larger world.
“One artist passes the ball to another, exploring the significance of football in society through art and contributing to the mythmaking around the Women’s World Cup. This exhibition celebrates football and the way artists can use it to define our times, reclaim lost time, and evoke a long-overdue nostalgia,” the exhibition says.
Romi Studio's co-founder and director Romina Jimenez Alvarez at Louvre Museum in Paris, France.
The exhibition has full “coverage” in its online format and will broadcast a diverse range of works made between 2007 and today, which include sculptures, small to large-scale paintings, sports photography, textiles, and four sets of limited edition prints made specifically for this exhibition.
AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND - JULY 20: Hannah Wilkinson of New Zealand celebrates after scoring her team's ... [+]
The exhibition has two limited-edition prints from Football Ferns’ Wilkinson, who was the first player to score at the World Cup after she found the net against Norway in the tournament opener.
Wilkinson’s prints, named “Heart in the Game” and “Soccerates”, use powerful imagery and poetical language to explore the philosophy and emotion in football, and her work reveals her deep emotional connection and proximity to the game.
In “Heart in the Game”, football is inseparable from her sense of self, while in “Soccerates”, Wilkinson playfully positions a football at the feet of Socrates.
Hannah Wilkinson's prints.
Jimenez Alvarez said she connected with Wilkinson in the months leading up to the exhibition.
“I saw some of Hannah Wilkinson’s work that was exhibited in Tokyo during the Olympics in 2020 and soon after discovered her “Wilks Craft” online portfolio. Soccer, music, and philosophy all weaved into her work —I immediately loved it and connected with her,” she recalled.
“We discussed her art practice and inspirations and selected the two drawings that would be included in the group exhibition. I presented these works to Fujifilm North America and they generously donated 50 limited-edition prints to the exhibition.”
The other artists include Shannon Bono, Marcin Dudek, Ella Littwitz, Jefferson Medeiros, Magdalena Paz, Sheida Soleimani, Sungrea Kim, Victoria Villasana and Wendy White.
The prints created by Chilean artist Paz, inspired by the Women’s World Cup, are representations of her love for the game as an athlete, and her desire to break away from traditional stereotypes associated with women’s football.
The print created by Chilean artist Magdalena Paz.
In her visual research, she found that existing illustrations of the Women’s World Cup often relied on feminine elements such as pink, flowers, and girls with ponytails, while men’s posters usually featured football-related imagery like a football or a goal.
Challenging these preconceived notions, Paz made the focal point of her prints feature a single, strong figure executing a bicycle kick, colloquially known as a “Chilena” in Chile and other Latin American countries.
Highlighting gender disparity is one of the key elements of the exhibition.
“On one hand, artists can bring forward women’s sports history that fell the wayside because of gender disparities that existed at the time… On the other hand, artists can continue to build hype around the sport in the present,” Jimenez Alvarez said.
“Magdalena Paz’s Women’s World Cup poster features a figure doing a bicycle kick and celebrates women as strong and entertaining competitors. Artists can rectify the variable of time in women’s sports and give them the hype and glory they deserve as competitors.”