Ghostly or fantastical figures, disquieting places, and enigmatic images subvert patriarchal traditions in Uncanny.

A concept popularized by Sigmund Freud in 1919, the uncanny describes the psychological experience of something that is strangely familiar, yet alien, eliciting a sense of anxiety. In historical representations, women’s bodies were often associated with strangeness and horror, or positioned as passive or uncanny objects when viewed through a male gaze. This exhibition uncovers women’s authorship of uncanny narratives, revealing how the concept is used by women artists to regain agency and probe feelings of revulsion, fear, and discomfort.

Organized around themes of surreal imaginings, unsafe spaces, and the uncanny valley, Uncanny comprises painting, sculpture, photography, works on paper, and video art. The exhibition centers on recent acquisitions and rarely seen works from NMWA’s collection, complemented by key loans.

Featured artists include Sama Alshaibi, Magdalena Abakanowicz, Louise Bourgeois, Leonora Carrington, Berlinde de Bruyckere, Nathalie Djurberg and Hans Berg, Anna Gaskell, Margi Geerlinks, Martine Gutierrez, Ann Hamilton, Connie Imboden, Fabiola Jean-Louis, Justine Kurland, Mary Ellen Mark, Polly Morgan, Meret Oppenheim, Frida Orupabo, Marlo Pascual, Vesna Pavlović, Marta María Pérez Bravo, Julie Roberts, Shahzia Sikander, Laurie Simmons, Valeska Soares, Sheida Soleimani, Angela Strassheim, Mathilde ter Heijne, Janaina Tschäpe, Remedios Varo, Gillian Wearing, and Jane and Louise Wilson.