The discreet charm of the petty bourgeoisie – Picture of the day

Stephanie Shih’s exhibition Domestic Bliss examines the concept of “family happiness” with ironic and dark humor, at the intersection of consumer culture and social expectations.
From microwave ovens to TV-ready meals – Shih’s ceramics are critiques of middle-class female role models of the 1980s-90s: they ask the question of what price “family happiness” comes at in the world of mass consumption.
One of the critics of the exhibition explicitly mentions feminism and the issue of female independence: the divorce wave of the 1980s-90s was driven by social factors such as the introduction of no-fault divorce laws and new waves of feminist movements, which brought a breakthrough in the “classic nuclear family” model and gave women autonomy. This social context is an important starting point for interpreting Shih’s work, as it highlights that the ideal of “domestic happiness” is far from being a romantic notion, but rather a construct shaped by political, social, and gender forces.