The exhibition title Kiss the Sky: Fallen Women, Glass Ceilings and the Return of the Goddess comes from a body of work made in response to questions about glass ceilings: what they confine, and what might happen if they didn’t exist. It also draws on the power of the mantra “pull yourself together, put on your lipstick, and create a spell” — where glamour becomes a nod to the witch.

I am fascinated by feminine rituals and by the contradictions embedded in feminism and the glamour industries: film, vintage magazines, make-up, old Hollywood—the star and the harlot.

I have collected vintage magazines since childhood, and the Goddess manifests in the images of women across those pages. In vintage girlie magazines there is no Photoshop, no cosmetic surgery, no singular “type”; each woman carries a story of what if, or what would she say.

The history of the female body is layered with guilt: fertility control and religious oppression entwined, girls weighed down by warnings and tales of fallen women who did not listen to what they were told.

In my world, these fallen women — the harlots and pin-up girls — are reimagined as empowered Goddesses, offered up for our adoration.

About The Artist

GIRL SHIT (Zoë Bailey) is a Brighton-based multidisciplinary artist known for her radical, satirical, and allegorical explorations of female narratives.

Bailey has an eclectic practice realised through oil painting, sculpture, installation, drawing, printmaking, collage, and DIY artist merch — a practice formed in art school and later inspired by a collision of post-punk subcultures.

While re-navigating the art world after becoming a mother, resistance to the female-led conversations within her work — often dismissed as “girl shit” or “girl stuff — prompted the adoption and ownership of the name GIRL SHIT. Bailey’s artistic enquiries are frequently explored through series, such as the ongoing Eve project, though themes remain intertwined and recurring throughout her practice. Bailey’s work questions and explores the female form and identity from personal, historical, mythological, and political standpoints.

Bailey’s work has been shown in a range of contexts, from group exhibitions in galleries to DIY music events, and is held in private collections worldwide.

A keen collaborator with other artists, Bailey is the creator, designer, and publisher of the ART NOW – MORE ART zine.

instagram.com/girlshitgirl

Image – Kiss the Sky, 2026, vintage lipstick casing, resin

Exhibition event

Deborah Sim, the Keeper of the Museum of Sex Objects, and folk musician Liz Overs will present their Fallen Women show at the private view event on 3 April 2026.  The private view will take place 18:00 to 20:00 in Phoenix’s Project Space.

Deborah Sim is the Keeper of the Museum of Sex Objects in London. She has co-founded and served as Creative Director of Coco de Mer and holds a master’s degree in Visual Culture and Gender Studies. A devoted historian and storyteller, Sim regards libraries as among the most erotic of public spaces and is committed to preserving narratives of sexual identity.

instagram.com/museumofsexobjects

Liz Overs is a songwriter, traditional folk singer, and folklore enthusiast. Her debut solo album, Nightjar, was recorded along the Sussex coast with Neill MacColl, Ben Nicholls, and David Tomlins. She has since performed with Chalk Horse Music and hosted a radio show exploring Sussex music, folklore, and social history. In 2023, her unaccompanied rendition of The Birds in the Spring featured in Dylan Howitt’s award-winning documentary The Nettle Dress.

instagram.com/overslizzie