Demeter Dykes
As a mature woman my work is the result of frustrations in relation to others’ expectations and misconceptions of me. Taking up space, unapologetically, has allowed a performative version of myself to emerge. I am interested in this commitment to performativity by mature women on social media sites.
The swirling farrago of sensations that is menopause slaps you in the face, hard, and lets you know, unequivocally, that you are on a one-way street with no turning circle at the end of it.
So, having less life ahead of me than there is behind compels my heels to dig into the earth so that the dizzying swiftness with which I am travelling along this one-way street, towards the exit from which there is no return, is at least decelerated.
Living an exaggerated version of myself, within my art practice, makes the ride more thrilling. There is absolute joy in discovering this other person who lives inside of me. She is powerful and loud, and we will not go quietly.
Ooo a kind of menopausal masquerade ball! What an exciting focus for an art practice!
ReplyDeleteI like the phrase ‘menopausal masquerade ball’! I have noticed that many mature women on social media ramp up the volume in terms of how they present themselves to the world and am very interested in this creative play.
DeleteI am happy you liked my description! I now know how to add my name... As a menopausal woman myself, I have enjoyed being quieter, and with a contented silence walking alongside the echoes of my louder, younger self, I feel freer to simply be. I create sculptural pieces that please me, I write words that don't mind if they are read, and I try at all times to be respectful to this new, quiter version of me.
DeleteYou say, 'She is powerful and loud, and we will not go quietly.' Does your performative self leak into your less exaggerated self? If so, does she cause alienation or acceptance in those around you both?
the language of the Phrygian red Cap of Liberty is powerful -- for France's Marianne as a symbol of the First Republic, apparently it was illegal to wear one under the Bourbon restoration.
DeleteYes the red dot cheeks and the Phyrigian cap/giant beanie hat very striking. Your image brought to mind Claude Cahun's image "I am in training, Don't kiss me" very probably taken by her partner Marcel Moore. Though whereas Cahun's self-presentation is coy and a wee bit cheekily androgenous , yours is bolder . Someone who it "fit", big strong leg!
Deletesorry that was meant to say someone who is fit...
DeleteLove that phrase, 'swirling farrago of sensations' also this 'to dig into the earth', very relatable. Thank you for sharing the image and your thoughts.
DeleteAre you frustrated that you don't live up to the expectations of others? I wouldn't bother with it. Most recipients of art and performance use social stereotypes. People love an artisanal approach to art based on perfection. For me, perfection in art is not important, only improvisation, emotions, character. I also noticed that in England the public discriminates against older women artists more than in other European countries? The crazy old lady also has something to say and can create delightful works of art. I like that you live a loud and happy version of yourself in your artistic practice. It's very valuable. But unfortunately, I am also almost 60 years old.
ReplyDeleteHi, I agree with so much of what you say and thank you for your comments.
ReplyDeleteI don’t want to live up to others expectations of me but am frustrated by their small mindedness and their assumptions based on stereotypical tropes. My frustration is a good thing, to me, as it gives me the energy to fight back. If I didn’t get angry I probably wouldn’t make this work. As I write this I can see something perverse about it - I need to mull this over.
By the way, I think being 60 is great! The crazy old lady has many valuable things to say and should be singing from the rooftops
i wish i was sixty, you lucky things! i am 74, and to be honest, not happy with the prospect that lies ahead, but we are where we are. I suppose the best way to cope is to think of the bigger picture and consider what, if anything, we can do about the bigger problems of society and nature, both individually and as part of whatever collective we feel able and happy to work within.
ReplyDeleteDemeter Dykes
ReplyDelete-So, I still haven’t managed to move from anonymous to myself.
DeleteI have been thinking about art practice and performativity and the use of oneself as the subject. If one works alone then, for still photography, one needs to delay the shutter in order to get into whatever the intended image is. There is a long moment of delay, depending on the intention - 10 seconds can seem like an age. So what is happening in that space? How much of what is captured is planned, intended or serendipitous? Chance can play a significant role. In my own practice there are many takes from which I need to select and edit. How much of my practice is me, or a version of me or a fabrication? The process is complex and still unclear, although necessary.
This is an interesting meditation on time where the gap in time drives the performative element through cutting time before from time after; the scurry back to the pose from the calm of composure; the selected image from the discards.
Deletethe enchainment of past and future
Woven in the weakness of the changing body
Because my camera doesnt have a self-timer I use one of those long hoses connected to a bulb that I squeeze with my foot
I tried a Bluetooth device but then struggled with how to hide it once I triggered the delay. Another thing to consider which interrupts the flow of thought and consideration before the shutter goes off. I enjoy the profound absurdity of scurrying to get into position within the 10 seconds and the fact that I get to spend my time in this way. It is no more absurd than the rest of life!
DeleteThis was a very liberating discussion
ReplyDeleteLots of what you say about technique resonates, all my work is is 10 second timer, camera phone, odd spaces and found objects, but the sense of play and exploring identities is the driver.
ReplyDeletePlay is key. It is a serious business. For me, play is about being totally open to possibility and thus to the unexpected. When children make up games, if the game doesn’t work, they change the rules. I find so much freedom in this.
DeleteI really like this. I am at a similar stage in life and have found my 40's to be a time in which I became less and less apologetic of who I am. The photo is very striking. There is an element of nearly absurd to it, but this is tempered by your 'I'm here' attitude. Which is a very powerful thing. Presenting yourself with all you are is a powerful attitude in itself and that's what I read from this photo.
ReplyDeleteDo you have more images on this series?
DeleteI have more work on Instagram.
DeleteAbsurdity is something that resonates - it is necessary in order to navigate our world. I was brought up on nonsense poetry and find it an effective way to elevate oneself from the parts of life that can bring one down.
I have seen more of your images in the meantime. Good stuff. Yes, I know what you mean. I think all we artists find a way to elevate ourselves. I wold die of boredom and lack of motivation if I stayed connected to the mundane on a regular basis. I find it hard to express myself through the absurd (though it's something I really admire in others' work). For me it's visual poetry and metaphors.
DeleteI love your definitions and playing on words and image to reflect on your experience. Being at this stage myself I can relate to the text, but the photo is so contradictory to the seriousness that usually comes hand in hand with being "in a certain age". Absolutely loving this!
ReplyDeleteWe are stuck between a rock and a hard place! Aging is difficult whilst also being a privilege. We tend to pride ourselves for being in control of our lives, but as I get older, I’m not sure I’ve ever had control over anything. The universe is perverse and unpredictable!
DeleteAs a visual artist I am keen for the work to stand for itself however, I love language and the play of words and meanings and tapping into familiar, well used phrases and prosaicisms.
DeleteEsther here, i found you on instagram and LOVE your work. Im 43. I sense/relate to some frustration and cyclical nature in some of the works. Your sense of creative play is fabulous. The use of mixed media and the comical approach I find very empowering.
ReplyDeleteThank you Esther. I am happy to hear that the comical approach works for you. It is always present, or at least, that is what I’m aiming for.
DeleteI think it is so important to have an artistic practice with this particular lens, especially in photography or any form of film. I'm only 26, but already I know what is coming as everybody warns me to dread 30. But I've heard from all the brilliant and mature women in my life, all now between 60-80 that the best years of your life are your 50s and beyond - when it becomes a point to exist for yourself again. But going into that as well, the idea that your younger years are taken that you want to reclaim them when you're older. It's fascinating, certainly not something I'm versed in and that I know I will come to understand hopefully before it is too late. But work like this to me is always going to be more interesting when I see a woman who is real, is someone I feel I know, is someone I know I could become.
ReplyDeleteDon’t dread 30! Or any of it. Each decade shows you who you are.
DeleteThroughout life there are moments or small spaces of recognition of parts of ourselves from previous times. We are constantly revisiting different iterations of who we were and who we become. My experience is that we continue to shift. So the moments or small spaces are crucial for us to hold ourselves together.
In answer to the further questions about identity of the subject, mindset, selfhood and ‘what it is that takes this image away from the straight passport/mugshot photograph while you ostensibly remain as subject?’ …
ReplyDeleteIn my image I am the subject, as a surface. I feel much more connection with being the material through which I hope to communicate. I think I use myself as a conduit for ideas. It is all tightly contained and these considerations fit very closely together.
In a mugshot or passport the image is merely a documentation of facial features. I do not have any thoughts/ideas in my head at the moment of that form of photograph being taken.
When I photograph myself for my own art practice I have clear intentions and a certainty about what the image needs to convey. The setting of the ‘ scene’, the costume, the make up, is deliberate and considered. It is usually triggered by something specific - something I have seen, or read, or a conversation I have had, or an emotional response to something that has happened. These aspects of my process reach clarity in the moment that the camera shutter goes off. But usually on only a few of the captured moments. As mentioned in a previous comment, many photos are discarded.
I use the make up and sunglasses to negate the distraction of my actual self. I become another version of myself that can resonate with an audience. This other version of myself also gives voice to my actual self.
Non of this happens in a mugshot.
I hope this makes sense and is of some use.