Rose Finn-Kelcey

Born Mar 1945 Northampton, died Feb 2014 London

Location: St Thomas à Becket, Fairfield

The Restless Image: a discrepancy between the seen position and the felt position created in 1975, pictures the artist doing a handstand on a beach,  we know it to be Littlestone beach because we can see the Mulberry Harbour in the background. The photograph was inspired by a snapshot of  the artist’s mother as a young woman, doing handstands on the beach with a friend. Rose revisited the beach that her family had visited when she was a  child, and took a series of photographs of herself performing handstands.  At first glance, it isn't easily read as a figure. On closer inspection , Rose has  given the air of nostalgia through her clothes and a sense of timelessness  using the barren landscape and the anonymity of the figure. The is a self  portrait that also celebrates the memory of her mother as youthful and  carefree.  

This photograph, now in the Tate collection, is a brilliant example of the  development of her own individual voice. Rose Finn-Kelcey exudes the  influences of 1960’s and 70’s feminism of the She worked on creating  precisely the right tension between the observer and the artist; the dynamic between active and passive developing an image where there is conflict between a woman’s internal experience and her external appearenace.  

‘A conversation piece to do with fashion, style, taste – choice and attitude  towards clothing – criteria by which clothing is selected; resulting in either a confirmation of self-image or choice of self-image... measuring up to an ideal.’ – Rose Finn-Kelcey, archive notes for The Restless Image 

Rose explored a range of artistic practices including performance, site  specific installs, video, sound and photography. She challenged concepts  of representation ‘Divided Self (Speaker’s Corner)’, 1974 is a black and white  photograph of the artist sitting on a park bench talking to herself. It’s Speaker’s Corner and no one else is listening. It may be easy to forget that the work was created in a time when many female artists felt almost entirely ignored, that their concepts, ideas and voice remained unheard. It is clear to see Rose’s huge influences on her contemporaries but also the many students she taught; yet despite her considerable achievements she was comparatively undervalued during her lifetime.