Under the skin
The exhibition introduces the visitor to the world of Cahun on the basis of important themes in her life and work. She was a versatile artist, had an enormous network within the Parisian avant-garde, joined the Jewish resistance, and Cahun had outspoken ideas about the world around her, all of which she expressed through her art.

A special feature of the exhibition is that only new prints were used for it. In this way, the Cobra Museum makes use of contemporary possibilities to bring Cahun’s special, and at times moving, work closer to the public. We do this by printing the photographs in an unusually large format, thus optimally highlighting the often theatrical and penetrating character of the work. The extensive selection of works from the period 1914-1947 gives the visitor the opportunity to become well acquainted with the distinctive oeuvre of a bold and courageous individual.

Jewish resistance
Using photographs taken by Cahun (of Jewish descent) on the British island of Jersey during the Nazi occupation in the Second World War, the exhibition tells the story of the courageous acts of resistance that led to her death penalty – which, incidentally, was never carried out thanks to the liberation. The film Confessions To The Mirror (68 min., 2016) by the renowned filmmaker Sarah Pucill will be screened as well. On the basis of a text written by Cahun, this film reflects on the artist’s political involvement and imprisonment.

Public program
On 13 December 2020, the Cobra Museum will collaborate with the International Queer and Migrant Film Festival and Schouwburg Amstelveen for a screening of Sarah Pucill’s 2013 film Magic Mirror, followed by a panel discussion on the notions of gender and identity with Simon(e) van Saarloos, Sudeep Dasgupta en Sarah Pucill, moderated by Aynouk Tan.

In April 2021, the Cobra Museum is hosting a four-day workshop with students of the Master’s programme in Gender Studies at Utrecht University and fashion students from the Gerrit Rietveld Academy. This workshop is a unique collaboration between these two groups of students. In this performative workshop – led by artists Marnie Slater and Jessica Gysel – the students work from their own expertise with texts and photographs by Claude Cahun from the Jersey Heritage Trust.

We are setting up an exciting programme of activities together with partners. In the course of the year we will inform you about this through our (online) channels, keep an eye on our website for updates.

Woman or man?
Our society is very fixated on gender. Claude Cahun challenged us to think differently. Cahun said: ‘neuter is the only gender that always suits me’. Nowadays we could interpret this as the non-binary gender: not fitting into the boxes man or woman. Some people who today identify with non-binary gender prefer the pronouns ‘them’ and/or ‘they’. However, Cahun’s texts do not show that she preferred pronouns other than feminine ones. That is why the Cobra Museum also chooses female pronouns when referring to Cahun.