Jessica Row

A new broom (Portrait of Enid Lyons) 2021
screenprints on paper (triptych); edition 1/2
Courtesy of the artist

Artist statement:

Dame Enid Lyons, the first woman elected to the House of Representatives and to serve in Federal Cabinet in 1943, is depicted confidently striding into Federal Parliament, alongside Dame Dorothy Tangney, the first woman elected to the Senate, also in 1943. Overlaid on the image are excerpts from Lyons' maiden speech presented in the House of Representatives, using domestic references to introduce herself as an equal to ‘the occupants of ... this particular cupboard’, whilst claiming her arrival in Parliament was feared by some members as ‘the somewhat too vigorous use of a new broom’.

Now on the 80th anniversary of Lyons’ appointment, this work seeks to both highlight and celebrate the achievements of, and challenges faced by women in politics; from the time that women were eligible to run for Parliament, to the experience of women today. To reflect on how far we've come, and how much further we have to go.