Fionn Wilson

REFRAMING THE PROFUMO AFFAIR VIA ART AND ARTEFACT

I wrote some text around the timing of the exhibition, which coincides with the 60th anniversary of the Profumo Affair.

Although there are obvious parallels to be drawn with the scandal of 1963 and today, I think it’s also important to see the Profumo Affair in a historical context, in a society that had different aspirations and values and where women had far fewer opportunities than we have today. The exhibition is about a specific time and it’s also about specific people, particularly two women and how the scandal affected them, and this is what makes it so interesting. Christine Keeler came from a disadvantaged and insecure background, with shadows of sexual abuse, and was the more fragile figure. Mandy Rice-Davies came from a stable, middle-class background and as can be seen, was better equipped to navigate the fallout from the affair.

Powerful men abusing their position is nothing new – it’s a story that runs through most of history and most of the great works of art and literature. This is unlikely to change. However, nowadays we have a platform, via the internet, to connect with others and to make voices and stories heard. In the time of the Profumo Affair, Christine (and Mandy) did not have this platform and they battled the media and the establishment with no support. For the rest of her life, Christine fought this aspect of not being heard, of not being believed or properly listened to and of being judged and labelled. She had no real voice or power, as it was for most women of the time.

Recent social media movements have sprung up allowing stories to be told and support networks to grow in solidarity, which is a good thing. However, it could be argued that they don’t challenge the system fundamentally. It’s satisfying to see abusive and powerful men such as Weinstein and Epstein toppled and brought to justice, but they only represent the tip of the iceberg. Abuse of power is endemic in society and the system enables it. From this point of view, little has changed in the 60 years since the Profumo Affair.

Profumo lied to Parliament and politicians continue to use their positions for personal advantage – an almost constant string of revelations in the press proves this. The ruling class has a sense of entitlement and think they can get away with anything – and very often they do.

In Christine’s and Mandy’s time, women didn’t speak of sexual assault or abuse of power openly – it was not something that was spoken about in the public sphere, maybe at best something talked about with close and trusted friends. Today, this is very different and we have a society much more willing to tackle and discuss these issues. In some instances, women are able to turn situations around in their favour, to regain some sort of control and use social media to become more visible – and even acquire celebrity status. If Christine and Mandy had lived today, they would probably by now have Instagram and Twitter accounts and maybe their own talk show. Whether on not this sort of scenario is helpful to women generally is another question.

Seymour Platt with a portrait of his mother, Christine Keeler, painted by Fionn Wilson (De Montfort University/PA) (3rd March, 2023)

Seymour has been campaigning for three years to clear his mum’s name of her unfair perjury charge and the case is still being looked at by the Criminal Cases Review Commission. I hope they make the fair and right decision.

Read more info about the campaign at the official Christine Keeler site: HERE.

Coverage of Seymour’s campaign and the exhibition at the DMU site: HERE.

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