Always soft, Always strong is an exhibition by Meeanjin-based, multidisciplinary artist Dr Karike Ashworth.

This gently provocative exhibition addresses the often contradictory experience of being a woman in a supposedly post-feminist society. The work in the exhibition covers a selection of works the artist made between 2015 and 2023, many of which developed in response to Dr Ashworth’s previous touring exhibition (Lamentation), as well as her experiences navigating IVF and the COVID-19 pandemic. The exhibition combines the unassuming intimacy of ‘the domestic’ together with instances of bemusing hyper-performance.