Despite some restrictions, this exhibition was an amazing display of female power, with a range of cultures and religions highlighting the way we as women are presented in divinity.  

 

Feminine power is an engrossing and compelling exhibition from start to finish. As soon as you enter, you are questioned on your own ideas and to start thinking of what femininity means to you, achieved through the guest speakers. This reflection is also embraced in the interactive exhibit at the end where visitors can send in their own thoughts. It is split into 5 areas: nature, passion and desire, evil, justice and defence and compassion. 

 

The exhibition is creatively diverse not only in culture but in the intentions and attributes of these powerful figures. Law and order is displayed through the statues of Sekhmet, the egyptian Lady of the Slaughter and Athena, Greek goddess of wisdom and war. The statue of Lilith, the Judaic cover of the exhibit, is perched on the wall, her striking blue eyes symbolising her defiance against her husband. A hint of witchcraft and evil is shown through the painting the Circe, the Greek sorceress. 

 

The sculpture of the Hawaiian goddess of volcanos Pele not only borders between destruction and creation, but it highlights the importance of nature within Hawaiian culture. Guanyin, a Chinese Buddhist bodhisattva signifies spirituality and is a guide, yet she sometimes transcends the female binary into any form, therefore surpassing into spirituality beyond typical borders.

 

However, there is the feeling that the exhibition doesn’t delve in ways it could. With limited space and such a large range of cultures, the exhibition doesn’t quite explore anything deeper than surface level ideas and the display sometimes feels overwhelming. Some reviews are mixed, noting these simplistic ideas and ‘TimeOut’ states that there is still a western centered viewpoint which comes from an individualistic form of empowerment. Yet it truly achieves its intentions, a range of historical artefacts and art that the Guardian describes as ‘exhilarating’. Overall, the exhibition mostly successfully and creatively fulfills its intention of its celebration of femininity and religion. So whether you’re a passionate feminist, a historian, pagan, artist or just intrigued, this exhibition will have something for you.