A Contemporary Feminine Divine: utilising female presentation in Grecian Myth to articulate a deeper understanding of home and the domestic
Lote (intransitive, archaic) To lurk; lie hidden This written accompaniment to the exhibition Lote also by the author, examines female representation within Greek myths as a means of reclaiming the body as home. In it, the author examines how the use of these myths might help the reader to connect with their inner domestic space—the internal liminal space in our bodies and minds that shifts and alters in order to manifest the essence of someplace safe, nourishing, and sheltered. Using an autoethnographic methodology, the author discusses their own experiences in this field addressing exposure of retained trauma in the body, and how one might through the observation, abstraction, and creation of a mythic and divine self, be able to reclaim an inner sense of secure self-identity and safety. Using secondary sources of classicists and scholars, myths and plays, and contemporary artists, the author translates the feeling of disturbance/comfort, uncanny/nourishment, and captivity/autonomy into an experiential guide to aid them in the discovery of home as self. This paper can be read alongside the exhibition, and supplementary images have been included at the end of the text for those unable to attend. The exhibition itself consists of a series of twelve printed images, two projected images, six heather sculptures, thirty poems across paper and candles, eight weavings, and some 400+ ceramic figures. Bookending the exhibition is a live performance, in which the author/ artist sits in the centre of the room and weaves. The artworks and following words are intended as a way of considering what it might mean to delve into the self, reestablish a connection with Hestia, the Greek goddess of hearth and home, and accept oneself as a divine mythic being.
Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations