victoriaRoyds

Artist Statement

Exhibition at Studio Altenburg - 1-24 May 2009

‘One cannot separate body and mind, nor the senses from the intellect, particularly in the field where the underlying repeatedly jading of our organs calls for sudden shocks to review our understanding’ [1]

This body of work investigates the notion of yearning and identity by reviewing the relationship of the ‘self’ and ‘other’ (women) to the female body. In particular, this work explores the female form to express different states of emotion. The work also references the healing journey of the feminine as in 16th century myth The Handless Maiden [2&5]. This myth illustrates how we women in the west are often unaware of how we are disempowered and compromised and how our feeling function has become a casualty of modern times.

‘The image of woman has served historically as a symbol of man’s link with nature, his hold upon the material world, but simultaneously it has functioned as a cover-up concealing a void, allying his fears, his sense of lack’ [3]

The body is a primary communicator of who we are and has been traditionally coded to be associated with the ‘mind/ body opposition ...

The opposition between male and female, where man and mind, and woman and body, become representationally aligned … Such a correlation is not contingent or accidental but is central to the ways in which philosophy has historically developed and still sees itself even today’ [4]

Cultural fragmentation is pervasive and insidious and has a major impact on our sense of identity. The assumption of mind / body split is a key issue in considering my own ‘identity’ as a woman in western society.

‘Whatever culture you come from, whatever era, whatever gender, you’re making work that stems from your own situation’[6]

By presenting the dualities of the feminine through the female body I try to invite the construction of new meaning, to expose and heal the wounds, to restore the mechanical hand to flesh and blood [2].

victoria Royds

[1] Wilson, S. O., Michel; Stone, Allucquere Rosanne; Francois, Serge; Adams, Parveen 1996, Orlan: Ceci est mon corps... Ceci est mon logiciel... This is my Body... this is my software... Black Dog Publishing Ltd., London pp4.

[2] Johnson, Robert 1993, Handless Maiden, in The Fisher King and the Handless Maiden: Understanding the Wounded Feeling Function in Masculine and Feminine Psychology, Harper Collins New York.

[3] Isaak, J. A. 1996, Feminism and contemporary art: the revolutionary power of women's laughter, Routledge, London & New York pp50.

[4] Grosz, E.A. 1994, Volatile bodies: toward a corporal feminism, Allen & Unwin, Sydney. pp

[5] Nelson, GM 1991, Here all Dwell Free: Stories to Heal the Wounded Feminine, Fawcett Columbine, New York

[6] Hall, Fiona. 2007, Force Field, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney pp32