Merzwomen and the Daughters of Dada

Merzwomen & the Daughters of Dada has been in the making since Jackie Haynes’s art practice- based PhD began at University of Cumbria, Institute of the Arts in 2016. This exhibition recognises the merits of researching and learning collectively. In this case, the art practices presented are being developed alongside one another in the overarching historical context of early to mid 20C German artist Kurt Schwitters. The idea of Merzwomen brings the interests, influences and arguments of two women artists to this context. It interweaves a contemporary enquiry into Schwitters’ one-man art movement of Merz with its characteristic remobilisation of fragments and material left-overs from the everyday. The Daughters of Dada refers to the generational and generative process of art-making and exhibiting. In this exhibition, Merz and Dada thinking share strategies of chance, with a focus on the points of rupture, connecting them beyond 20C art history to the present. In Merzwomen & the Daughters of Dada, Haynes has invited fellow practice-based PhD candidate, Heather Ross (University of Newcastle) to contribute to this dialogue. They have become friends and fellow Schwitters' scholars, together navigating the often challenging terrain of Schwitters' legacy. Thematically there is some cross-over in their respective practice: both employ Dadaist strategies, through provocation, or in their approach to the creative process. There is a focus on the phenomena of the everyday. Domestic and street level objects are subverted to explore their alternative potential. Leftovers and residues mark the flux and flow of objects and gestures in ways analogous with our material world.