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Artist behind Mona’s Ladies Lounge speaks out after legal ruling
Museum of Old and New Art curator Kirsha Kaechele is seeking legal advice after being ordered by the Tasmania Civil and Administrative Tribunal to allow men entry into her artwork the Ladies Lounge.
As a result of the tribunal’s decision, announced on Tuesday, Mona has 28 days to either close the lounge, allow men entry or change the work in some way. Kaechele, the wife of Mona founder David Walsh, said she was considering her options, including an appeal.
Kirsha Kaechele installs the Ladies Lounge at Mona.Credit: Mona/Jesse Hunniford
“Admitting men does not appeal to me,” Kaechele said. “Appealing the decision is more appealing. They want me to reform the artwork. I could consider this, but I fear it may be beyond reform. I need the full 28-day period to absorb the decision and compose myself, and my response.
“I will be seeking counsel. As the hugely influential gender theorist Judith Butler has long argued, gender is a performative construct. To which I’d add: so is the legal system.”
On Tuesday, Mona lost the anti-discrimination case brought against it by NSW man Jason Lau, who visited the museum on April 1 last year, paid a $35 entrance fee, and was denied access to the Ladies Lounge.
Mona does not dispute that Lau was discriminated against, with its counsel arguing that is the point of the artwork. The Ladies Lounge is a dimly lit, opulent, green-hued space, featuring plush silk curtains, a phallus-shaped green velvet lounge, artworks from Picasso and Sidney Nolan, and cabinets filled with precious jewels including the gold tiara Kaechele wore when she wed Walsh in 2014.
Kaechele (left) and supporters arrive for a hearing in March.Credit: Charlotte Vignau
At a hearing on March 19, Mona’s counsel, Catherine Scott, sought an exemption to the Anti-Discrimination Act on the grounds that the Ladies Lounge provided equal opportunity for women, who had faced historical discrimination and exclusion from many public spaces.
Kaechele told the hearing: “We need the Ladies Lounge: a peaceful space woman can retreat to; a haven in which to think clearly, and relish the pure company of women without the overwhelming supremacy of men.”
In his decision, tribunal deputy president Richard Grueber acknowledged that the Ladies Lounge was “intentionally discriminatory, for a good faith artistic purpose” but said the Anti-Discrimination Act did not allow discrimination on such grounds. He noted that while the lounge “may have a valid moral or ethical or pedagogical purpose … it cannot reasonably be intended to promote equal opportunity”.
It also appears that Kaechele and her 20 or so supporters, who arrived at last month’s hearing in matching navy suits and bright red lipstick, poking fun at the proceedings in a silent choreography, narrowly escaped prosecution for contempt of court, with Grueber taking exception to their behaviour.
“I expect that the conduct of the group was some form of performance art rather than being calculated to influence Mr Lau or the determination of his complaint,” Grueber wrote.
“While it might have seemed to the participants to have been an amusing escapade or an expression of support for Ms Kaechele, had I formed the view that it was, in fact, intended for either of the latter purposes, or had the effect of influencing Lau, I would have been obliged to refer the conduct to the Director of Public Prosecutions to consider prosecution.”
In response to being chastised for her behaviour, Kaechele said: “I believe the judge enjoyed the performance very much. Although he did state that I was ‘contumelious’ in court. I had to look that word up: it means scornful, insulting and insolent. We were simply moving silently through a series of poses, and quietly reading feminist texts.
Kaechele is seeking legal advice after being ordered by the Tasmania Civil and Administrative Tribunal to allow men entry into her artwork the Ladies Lounge.Credit: Jo Duck
“Still, I appreciate that the judge only wishes to instruct me on how to behave in a more ladylike manner. In his decision, the judge also compared me to Caravaggio – a great artist, but he also murdered someone. I just served ladies champagne.”
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