Gallery images are a work in progress for the project described below, additional elements will be added to each image that will support the concept.
More images will be added as the project progresses. Stay tuned.
More images will be added as the project progresses. Stay tuned.
"Sacred Female" is a work-in-progress that I started about a year ago and continue to explore. The project combines photographs, taken by me and sourced from the Library of Congress archive, paint, typography, and textiles in a way that challenges the idea of the sacred female, or goddess, alongside the realities people face worldwide.
The project will look at the tradition of deification as it manifests within the construct of the patriarchy and its feminine trope. More specifically, the concept of goddess worship that started within the counter-culture back In the 60’s. Women from this time, primarily white, created a mystic feminism that focused heavily on female strength as nurturing, life-giving, and in tune with the idea of Gaia, or mother earth. This particular mystic feminism still exists and I support the idea of being in tune with nature and those who choose to bear children. However, I question the imagery and language that is typically used that seems to lift white women to the status of goddess, promotes gender specificity, and upholds the barefoot and pregnant narrative of the patriarchy that continues to strip people of their bodily autonomy. I feel as though mystic feminism falls short on being inclusive. And, perhaps, instead of being wholly uplifting, it is a more narrow view that keeps us subordinate within the larger context of our predominantly male-centered world.
The project will look at the tradition of deification as it manifests within the construct of the patriarchy and its feminine trope. More specifically, the concept of goddess worship that started within the counter-culture back In the 60’s. Women from this time, primarily white, created a mystic feminism that focused heavily on female strength as nurturing, life-giving, and in tune with the idea of Gaia, or mother earth. This particular mystic feminism still exists and I support the idea of being in tune with nature and those who choose to bear children. However, I question the imagery and language that is typically used that seems to lift white women to the status of goddess, promotes gender specificity, and upholds the barefoot and pregnant narrative of the patriarchy that continues to strip people of their bodily autonomy. I feel as though mystic feminism falls short on being inclusive. And, perhaps, instead of being wholly uplifting, it is a more narrow view that keeps us subordinate within the larger context of our predominantly male-centered world.
All images and text copyright Terri McNaughton (unless otherwise noted). No duplication or downloading of any of the images is allowed.