“(re) producing the matrix ” “Full Bodied Words” and “My Laughing Vagina”

17 May 2018 Comment

Gallery 1: Angelica Harris-Faull “(re) producing the matrix “ Gallery 2: Julie Vinci “Full Bodied Words” NOOKY: Angela Hickey “My Laughing Vagina” From the Trocadero Media Release: Angelica Harris-Faull “(re) producing the matrix “ In western classical and early modern medical literature women’s bodies were perceived as an imperfect version of man, with female reproductive organs considered as an inverted penis.[1] The rise of the mechanical printing press facilitated the proliferation of texts and images which carried and reproduced notions of female anatomy and gendered sociocultural power relations. Medical, social and cultural understandings of the female reproductive system have shifted through time; however, the womb is persistently cast as site of socio-political contestation where voices on autonomy, reproductive rights and choices, and moral and legal debates collide. The printmaking matrix is the source which enables reproduction or multiples, while the womb in Latin is also termed ‘matrix’. This collection of work draws on repetition, of print and womb, to draw awareness to the medicalization of female bodies, and to attempt to destabilize historical western notions of the female body. Julie Vinci “Full Bodied Words Full Bodied Words is a collection of photographs that discuss the social/political condition of women. Each work is a literal depiction of the conflicting messages women face daily. Being told their only currency is their sex appeal and then expected to function as the selfless nurturer all whilst having their individual voices silenced in a society that sees women as the lesser of the two sexes. Angela Hickey “My Laughing Vagina” In this artwork investigates the power of language and the meaning associated with words, specifically the word vagina. The vagina, although a word to describe a part of the female anatomy, brings up negative connotations for many people and I wanted to create a work that breaks down this relationship with the word vagina. This video focuses on my mouth which symbolises a vagina. The laughter and the repeated use of the word vagina seeks to ease the shame and guilt that surrounds this word. This is my healing. Trocadero Art Space is located at Suite 1, Level 1/119 Hopkins St Footscray, 2011 Opening hours: 12 - 5pm Wednesday - Saturday www.trocaderoartspace.com.au