Punch by Jenny Blount
“I think redefining masculinity is long overdue. Feminism is essential but unless correctly balanced by an equal push into freeing up male stereotypes, then genuine equality becomes unachievable.”
- Jenny Blount
Jenny Blount uses the character of Punch from the traditional Punch and Judy puppet shows to explore masculinity. Within British culture the puppet show normally presents Punch as a squawking man whose interaction with the other characters is coupled with slapstick comedy, in this case quite literally through Punch slapping the others with a stick. The show can be dated back to the 17th Century and over the years the storyline has shifted with the addition of new characters. Jenny’s work seen above places Punch in different scenarios that challenge the aggression of his maleness. In the first piece Punch is encouraged to rethink his particularly potent attitude whilst the second sees him looking the baby; “…he gets very sentimental over his daughter but the practicalities of child-raising are left to Judy”.
