I began with the idea of representing the Moon Goddess as a circle and explored the symbolism associated with this shape. I liked the way it references planets, orbits, the concept of cyclic time, and the circle of life. These things are relevant to my practice as I am trying to convey in my work the spirit of the Divine Feminine. My work is in response to how the Goddess has been hidden away, made invisible, and demonized by the patriarchy. Her story (and women's story) has been hidden away and covered up for centuries, as Lucy Lippard illustrates in her book 'Overlay' (Lippard, 1983).
Using the Moon Goddess as a symbol of all women and their place in society, my work also references how women have also been 'hidden in plain sight.' By which I mean, viewed through the male lens and valued only in relation to their usefulness to men. I appreciate that this is not as bad as it has been in the past (in Western society), but I do believe there is still a long way to go for the women's movement and that these issues are still relevant today. (Perez, 2019, preface).
I started with the idea of displaying my work as a 'circle of circles' with each circle containing another type of circle, a stone circle. I wanted each stone to represent a different woman and also a different aspect of the Goddess. I chose stone circles to reference the myth of women circle dancing in the fields and being turned to stone for their 'wickedness'. The myths explain that this was their punishment for dancing, instead of attending church (Westwood, 1983, p.201). It was a thinly veiled reference/threat to the women that worshipping the moon goddess and earth mother by dancing in the fields was a punishable offense. I believe these myths were created to intimidate women and separate them from the religion and power that they once had. These myths and stories transformed the stone circles from a place to connect with the ancestors in spirit, to a place of danger, shame, and punishment. The underlying message was clear - the Saints of the new patriarchal religion (and their earthly representatives), were prepared to assert themselves forcibly, if women did not comply with their rules.
Then I had the idea of using eight circles - to strengthen the link to the Moon Goddess. This works by referencing the eight phases of the Moon. The Moon has been scientifically linked with all women as it affects their 28-day cycle of fertility and menstruation.
Mary Beth Edelson's 'Gates of Horn' at A.I.R. Gallery, New York, 1977 [installation].
I was very impressed with Mary Beth Edelson's installation piece 'Gates of Horn'. I felt it linked with the Venus of Hohle Fels figurine I had been researching for my dissertation. The figurine (which Goddess feminists believe represents an aspect of the Goddess) was discovered deep within a cave, and I had been reflecting on the qualities of that environment. It reminded me of a modern-day church or temple with an entrance that protected/housed something precious/hidden - the people that lived within it and their possessions. In the work above Edelson differentiates between 'outside' and 'inside', it got me thinking and researching the temple of Solomon (which all churches and cathedrals in Christianity are based upon). It also got me wondering how I might create an installation and make it interactive in some way, perhaps introducing an element of ritual or performance to the installation?
Monica Sjoo's 'Dancing women, Dancing Stones' 1993 [painting].
When I saw Monica Sjoo's painting, 'Dancing women, Dancing Stones' in the 'Overlay' book I loved the way she had also made connections between the women, the stones, and Gimbutas' iconographic system of symbols. I felt encouraged and inspired by her work.
The Mondo Tondo exhibition, Arcadio Contemporary Gallery, California, 2019.
Researching the Mondo Tondo exhibition was interesting when considering how to present my work. In this exhibition, all of the artworks were circular 'rotundas'. The way they were exhibited was very traditional, perhaps in an attempt to highlight the contrast between their creation and presentation? They were not created in a traditional format (ie. portrait or landscape style). This reminded me that curves are symbolic of Goddess energy, and helped me decide that I wanted to emphasize the Divine Feminine symbolism by using non-linear structures and designs in my graduation show (Gimbutas, 2001, p.xix).
Swoon's exhibition 'Submerged Motherlands' Brooklyn Museum, 2016 [installation]
The artist 'Swoon's exhibition 'Submerged Motherlands' included a temple/cave structure.
This inspired the idea of creating a cave as part of the installation and making the cave my temple. Perhaps the cave was the earliest form of temple back in paleolithic times? It also reminded me that in the book Invisible Women they mention that the handprints made by cavemen had most likely been made by cavewomen. Yet another example of how the androcentric approach to history and archaeology has misled and misinformed us! I began thinking about those early, women artists and how and why they made their mark, on the cave walls with their handprints - in a society that hadn't yet invented writing (Perez, 2019, p.3).
I sketched out my ideas and discussed them with my tutor, and we agreed that ideally, I would create the whole installation within a cave structure. We discussed ways of making a cave-like area for my work and I mentioned that I'd like to decorate the walls with handprints. I am keen to make the whole thing interactive, 'immersive' and might ask the other (female) students to 'make their mark' by making handprints as our ancestors have done. I plan to create a small maquette, so the audience can peer inside it and see my ideas scaled-down within a miniature cave.
So, lots of research, lots of ideas - now it's time to get into the studio and get started!
References
Gimbutas. M (2001). The Language of the Goddess. Londond: Thames and Hudson.
Lippard. L.R. (1983) Overlay: contemporary art and the art of prehistory. Pantheon Books: New York.
Perez. C.C. (2019) Invisible Women: Exposing Data Bias in an World Designed for Men. London, Penguin.Westwood.J. (1985) Albion: A Guide to Legendary Britain. London: Mackays of Chatam Ltd.
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