× art.co.za artists exhibitions training auctions blog

2 DECADES +

LIED VAN DIE SPINNERS / SONG OF THE SPINNERS


I was reading Marija Gimbutas' books on her interpretation and understanding of the dwellings, burials, and artifacts from Neolithic excavation sites in what she termed “Old Europe”.The idea of a time when a mother goddess was worshipped fascinated me. However, in my art I did not simply want to insert an image of female deity into the discourse on goddess. Instead I wanted to examine the process by which the divine female could be re-membered.

The small ritual objects found in these Neolithic towns spoke not only of goddess but brought to life women's work of 7,000 years ago. I imagined that the ritual of the annual work of growing flax and the repetitive labour of spinning linen thread and weaving the thread into fabric as a metaphor for creating goddess. The poem and the art for Song of The Spinners grew out of this imagining. I combine the phallic shape of the spindle with the mandorla or yoni shape of the weaving frame incorporating masculine and female energies.

1994 Pages from sketchbook.

'Woodcuts from SONG OF THE SPINNERS'
1996 Limited edition artists’ book with 8 woodcuts and bilingual poem.





Follow this artist