For her third solo presentation with gallery Sofie Van De Velde, Amber Andrews has developed a new body of work under the title Flâneuse. Rarely encountered under this female rendition, flâneur is a term first coined in 1585 but popularised in the 19th century, referring to a wealthy man who could ‘wander aimlessly’ and later developed to mean ‘a man who likes to do nothing’ . In the Antwerp dialect, it connotes men who take to the street with the intention of being noticed.
Narratives around walking have repeatedly disregarded the female experience; but flâneuse is not about making a woman fit a masculine concept, rather to redefine the concept itself . For Andrews, it acts as a framework through which to gather observations and formulate reflections.
She brings us into an imagined reality where real women from her life turn to stone, and statues come to life cloaked in fur and wearing shoes. By means of her paintbrush, she erects sculptures as a claim to public space. Guided by – and playing with – instances of duality, she seeks the still moments that derive from walking; she contrasts solid material with lush fabrics; and keeps her statues in plain sight, propped on plinths or sheltered by balustrades for safe distance.