Feminism in the art of women artists born after 1970
KATARZYNA MAJAK
DESIRE
Studio Background Swing Piece
The story sounds banal but it is real. I received a wedding dress
'for good luck' before my wedding. As the wedding was cancelled
I was left with the dress and I started working with it.
It is the dress that is the main heroine here - and the story
became a story of how objects and things rule our lives...
Different photographers took part - some borrowed the dress for
different aims (lesbian wedding session, Swedish bathroom ad session,
an American friend's book project)...
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DECHIRER
Black Veil 1 Torn
This is a second phase of the story of the dress - how an individual
can free oneself from the power of an object.
I asked an experienced dressmaker to sew copies of the dress for me,
and I had therefore more objects at my disposal to work with - to photograph,
videotape and destroy...
Each object gets destroyed in a different way - it gets torn apart,
painted black, burnt...
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WOMEN OF POWER
Polish witches, healers, spiritual leaders
Maria Ela - Healer and visionary Maria video still 1 & Maria video still 2
Christianity was forcefully introduced into Poland centuries ago in
order to successfully erase almost all traces of paganism, witchcraft
or shamanic traditions. Basically none of that heritage survived.
In a series of almost 30 portraits, including interviews, I present
a counterpart to the apparently mono-religious society by revealing
the present day realm of witches, healers, enchanters, visionaries
and spiritual leaders existing beyond the mainstream of beliefs.
Only a few traditional healers survive on the Belarusian border
and cannot be found anywhere else in the world. They are so called 'whisperers'
who mix religion and primeval superstitions to heal and remove spells using
prayers. Others try to revive a dead tradition - they may have had grandmothers
who could 'see' or were herb healers. Many left with no choice,
travelled abroad - to North America, Peru, or New Zealand - to learn,
come back and mix the knowledge with some local traditions -
old Slav ceremonials or demonology. Most believe a pagan spirit
and witchcraft somehow managed to survive in the subconsciousness.
This fascinating journey from woman to woman (the youngest in her early
30s and the oldest in her late 80s) all across the country was my search
for a female wisdom and plurality of spiritual paths hidden within
a mono-religious society. I filmed women wearing their ceremonial outfits
and holding their 'objects of power'. At the same time they worked with an energy,
transmitting it through the lens of the camera.
The series also includes 3 video pieces 'Maria' in which Warsaw
is ceremoniously cleansed with burning sage.
www.katarzynamajak.com
Photos: Courtesy of the Artist and Porter Contemporary, NYC
portercontemporary.com
