DARK CONTINENTS

Dark Continents is a continuation of my exploration of womanhood, a mystery in constant flux and evolving mutability. I grew up in a patriarchal society, strongly influenced by psychoanalysis and Freud’s writings, and have always been disturbed by Freud’s reference to women’s sexuality as “Dark Continents.” His connotation depicts a negative and derivative description of women’s sexuality, and also lacks literal truth and valid research on the subject. In my work, I depart from the historic and cultural association of women’s intrinsic relation with its gender –usually connected with the feminine-maternal and not with its own sexuality. Halfway through my life, I envision my body and my psyche through a different viewpoint, intending to express thoughts on the mysteries and intricate secrets of the self, the life lived, the past and the roads yet to transit. The body becomes not only a topographic surface, but also an intricate repository of calendars, cycles and hormones, fluids and cells, of memories and emotions. For Dark Continents, along with photography and installations, I have also manipulated black and white images with embroidery, threads and fabrics. These materials help me connect with a life long association with women’s traditions, and it is precisely through the act of embroidering onto the body –and on the photographic surface- where I try to reconnect with memory, as in telling a story that departs from the depths to the surface. They emerge as “engravings” on the body with many layers, examining my inner world and idiosyncrasies, our genders’ private thoughts and feelings, opening a dialog between biology and psychology, our social and private persona. Through this body of work, I am interested in unveiling metaphorically the truth beneath our surface, deeper than the external body, exploring and re-tracing what was once felt by it, as well as the complex relationship between reality and the memory that lives within.