The Western Australian Museum opened two very different exhibitions on Valentine’s Day.

Femme Fatale: The female criminal, offers a rare insight into some of Australia’s wildest women and Shell-shocked: Australia after armistice which looks at the personal impact of war on Australians.

Not for the faint-hearted, Femme Fatale explores criminology, the justice system, religion and myth, popular culture and case studies of some of Australia’s most notorious female criminals.

Exhibition curator Nerida Campbell said women who committed crimes had always intrigued society, yet the exhibition showed a stark contrast to the glamorised femmes fatales seen in films and other popular culture.

“Lana Turner was the quintessential Hollywood femme fatale - the seductress we see in films who is attractive, independent and intelligent, and uses her sexuality against men who are unable to resist her,” Ms Campbell said.

“Yet the reality for most female criminals turns out to be a hard, dysfunctional and violent life – brutalised and degraded by further stints in prison.”

The second exhibition, Shell-shocked: Australia after armistice explores the personal impact of World War 1 on Australian men, women and children.

The exhibition shows how the nation channelled its grief into public commemoration, honouring the fallen with national monuments and ubiquitous small town memorials.

Of the Australians serving overseas during World War I, almost three-quarters were either lost or injured.

The nation was deeply affected by this war and the exhibition is a compelling reminder of what it took for Australians to rebuild their lives after it was over.

Shell-shocked is presented by the National Archives with the assistance of the Department of Veterans’ Affairs while Femme Fatale comes from the Historic Houses Trust of NSW. Visions of Australia is a funding partner for both exhibitions

Media Contact: Caroline Lacy on (08) 92123730 or 0414 381761