Women Artists Unite For Sarabande Exhibition 'Earth Monsters'
Sarabande's latest exhibition Earth Monsters, curated by previous Sarabande artist-in-residence Shirin Fathi, gathers nine women-identifying artists - all of whom have set out to explore the storied relationship between women and nature in their works - in celebration of International Women's Day. By reflecting on our symbiotic relationship with plants and the associations between gender and environment, Earth Monsters revolves around a broad range of themes which share in questioning the idea of Mother Earth while also drawing attention to concepts surrounding fertility, domestic abuse, body autonomy, tradition through culture and post-human narratives.
Artists commissioned by Fathi to create work for the exhibition include Sarabande past and present residents Saelia Aparicio, Shannon Bono, Darcey Fleming, Jo Grogan, Kuniko Maeda, Almudena Romero, Paloma Tendero, Lulu Wang and Kasia Wozniak. Although all artworks touch upon ideas anchored in one theme, the processes, techniques and personal beliefs of each artist couldn't be more disparate.
Wang's 3D silver sculptures (two of which sit in conversation with each other, specially created for Earth Monsters, inspired by performance art) pull on various post-human elements, culminating in ambiguous yet futuristic pieces that question the very meaning of nature in relation to being human. 'When you ask someone "What comes to mind when you think of nature?", many people think of forests, the woods, enjoying the sunshine and embracing organic things, food, material and the like - but I was born and raised in the city', Wang says of her work at the exhibition's curator's tour. 'So to me, nature means people. It's about human experience and being human. My work unconsciously gravitates towards figuring out emotions and relationships, what we're engaging with throughout our lives. That is my gut reaction when someone says the word nature'.
Romero's work contradicts Wang's thought process entirely, but that's not what is interesting. Fathi has curiously placed both artists' works next to each other - a decision the curator insists isn't deliberate but nevertheless, creates an interesting dichotomy fuelled by the radically different approaches both Romero and Wang take when addressing the relationship between nature and gender in their work.
Romero's work isn't just different because, unlike Wang, she does dwell on plants, saplings and the like in response to nature - no, it's a lot more complicated than that: Romero's work is nature, quite literally. Over the years, the artist's practice has evolved from using sunlight to print photos directly onto leaves to replicating photographs with plant seeds - which is exactly what her Earth Monsters submission does. The portrait she's purposefully worked on for the exhibition, however, comes with a message just as important as the revolutionary process Romero upholds in her practice - it is an image of her late best friend, who was horrifically killed by her partner. 'One in three women are affected by domestic abuse each year according to WHO statistics', Fathi reminds us during her exhibition tour, making this work a sobering reminder of why International Women's Day goes deeper than just finding an excuse to wear all pink once a year.
Other works include joyful yet mythical paintings diving into the realms of self-portraiture (courtesy of Shannon Bono, who also featured in Fathi's last exhibition for Sarabande Tangle Teaser), shaggy chair creatures made by Darcey Fleming, photographic works by Kasia Wosniak and Paloma Tendero that look to the egg as a symbol of fertility, birth and power and intricate Irish lace reflecting on traditional women's work in rural Ireland in the 1920s by wood carving craftswoman Jo Grogan .
Commenting on the incredible beauty seen in Earth Monsters, Sarabande director Trino Verkade said in a statement:
'We are delighted to show the work of these ten talented women artists around International Women’s Day. The Foundation has always championed the craft and artistry of women, and these ten are a small percentage of those we have mentored since we started the Foundation. With the generous donation from Victoria’s Secret for this exhibition, we have been able to fund new commissioned works from each artist that can be used to further their practices and, therefore, careers.'
By exploring the relationship between gender and the environment, Earth Monsters reflects on the changing role of women while also questioning the boundaries that control women's bodies in patriarchal societies. This International Women's Day, we want you to remember that although society still revolves around 'Man', nature is referred as 'mother' for a reason.
