Extase (1986) by Mary Kelly (b. 1941) was created during Kelly’s artist residency at Murray Edwards College (then New Hall) and Kettle’s Yard in 1985–86 and became the foundation of The Women’s Art Collection.

Taking this work as its starting point, What Remains brings together works by contemporary artists working across archives, personal and collective histories, and material traces of the past.

The works in this exhibition activate histories as a living resource. They invite us to consider how identities are formed, whose stories are remembered, and how art can conjure new ways of imagining the future.

Extase forms part of Kelly's larger installation Interim (1984–89), a multipart work that, rather than presenting history or identity as complete or settled, proposes the ‘interim’ as a space of transition, uncertainty, and possibility—where meanings remain open and identities continue to be shaped.

Three accompanying display cases expand the exhibition through archival material drawn from The Women’s Art Collection, Kettle’s Yard, Glasgow Women’s Library, Cambridge University Library, Cambridge Women’s Resource Centre and private collections. Together, they trace the exhibition’s historical and intellectual contexts, from documents relating to Mary Kelly’s 1985–86 residency, to the books, publications and activist ephemera that have informed the exhibiting artists’ research. Featuring feminist health manuals, magazines and zines, the displays highlight the vital role of independent publishing, archives and collective knowledge in shaping feminist artistic practice across generations.

Curated by Laura Moseley, Curator of The Women’s Art Collection with editorial assistance by Elisabetta Garletti and Harriet Loffler. Exhibition design by Sally Coleman.

This exhibition is generously supported by Pippy Houldsworth Gallery, Griselda Pollock and Maria Sukkar.

Accompanying the exhibition will be an illustrated booklet with contributions by exhibition curator Laura Moseley, Professor Amy Tobin, Mary Kelly, Lucy Howie, Alina Khakoo and Evelyn Whorrall-Campbell, designed by Kaiya Waerea.