why doesn't she crack a smile

Needlepoint artist Catherine Tipping and local snapper Mia Mala McDonald are pretty fed up with the way society treats its women. So much so that they’ve pulled together an exhibition, Why doesn’t she crack a smile, that delves into the “underlying tensions and reaction to the politics of feminism”.

To do this, they’ve joined forces on a series of photographic portraits, snazzed up with some rather emotive stitching. Each image ties in with a personal story or experience – the aim is to strike up a conversation about important things like identity, social discomfort, representation and transformation.

If you’d like to cast your eyes over the works and join in the convo yourself, it opens tonight at 6pm at Melbourne’s Schoolhouse Studios. Don’t stress if you’re tied up though – it’ll be on show until 3pm on Thursday November 26th.