About

Wicked Bodies reflects on many issues centering women and their bodies that have persisted for centuries: fear of bodily functions, horror at what knowledge women might possess, disgust at the way women carry on their daily existence, and the crumbling of beauty as women age. This timely work explores the culture of old crones, evil stepmothers, and the use of the female body as a source of fear by governments and institutions.



The inspiration for the work came after Lerman visited an art exhibition at the Scottish National Gallery entitled Witches and Wicked Bodies. The exhibition covered 500 years of prints and drawings of witches. Lerman was struck by how women’s bodies were depicted as strange, lethal, and poisonous–yet also powerful.