Reclaiming the Narrative: Female Sexuality and Ancient Archetypes

The Riga Gallery Donkey is currently hosting Sabine Vernere’s solo exhibition, A Woman’s Monster, running from March 29th to April 26th. This exhibition delves into the multifaceted image of women as portrayed in Western culture and psychoanalysis. Vernere’s work centers on her captivation with female sexuality, a theme she has previously explored through the lenses of nature, geopolitical history, and her own identity as a female artist.

Vernere’s current focus lies in dissecting the intolerance surrounding female sexuality. to understand its origins, she draws a parallel to ancient Greek culture, a cornerstone of Western perception and the cultural canon. This includes democracy, justice, art, architecture, and literature.

Mythical Figures as Mirrors to modern Issues

Vernere’s artistic research, conducted as part of her doctoral studies at the Latvian Academy of Arts, culminates in A Woman’s Monster. She highlights the enduring relevance of ancient greek myths, noting how artists and thinkers throughout history, from Michelangelo to Carl Jung, have engaged with these narratives.

By examining the stories of Medusa, Pandora, and the Sirens, Vernere seeks to uncover contemporary resonances within these ancient tales.These figures, often portrayed as monstrous, offer a lens through which to examine present-day challenges and societal perceptions of women. Consider,for example,the ongoing discussions surrounding female portrayal in media,where women are often relegated to passive roles or judged based on unrealistic beauty standards. According to a 2024 report by the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in media, women only account for 37% of major characters in films, highlighting a persistent imbalance.

Medusa: From Victim to Symbol of Resistance

Medusa’s story,in particular,serves as a powerful example. Raped in Athena’s temple, she is punished for the crime committed against her, her hair transformed into snakes and her gaze made deadly. Vernere argues that these woman’s monsters arise from acts of violence, and their subsequent actions, whether driven by survival or self-determination, are perceived as threatening by patriarchal structures.

A woman’s monsters arise as a result of such violence,and everything these powerful and stunning beings continue to do after survival or regain self -determination frightens the patriarchate.

Perseus’s act of beheading Medusa transforms her image into an apotropaic symbol, a sign of protection. Vernere emphasizes the act of confronting fear and turning it against one’s oppressors. In her view, addressing sexuality within artistic practice becomes a means of discovering one’s own apotropaic sign, an image that challenges the judgmental gaze that demonizes female sexuality and strength.

The Evolving Narrative: Who Tells the Story Matters

Vernere’s research acknowledges the evolving interpretations of myths throughout history, recognizing that the narrator’s outlook shapes the narrative. She points out that humans rely on storytelling to convey details and understanding. By tracing the narratives surrounding female sexuality across millennia, one arrives at a point where the body and essence of a woman are defined by external forces.

The artist admits to longing for active female heroes to serve as inspiration. She recalls a time during her studies when she lacked the vision to imagine herself creating large-scale solo exhibitions, due to the absence of such examples in Latvia. This highlights the importance of representation and the need for diverse role models in the art world and beyond.

Archaic Methods,Contemporary Expression

Vernere’s artistic choices reflect her exploration of these themes. She employs egg tempera on paper, marble, and ceramics, favoring archaic methods that connect to the origins of painting. This intentional choice underscores the ancient weight of her subject matter and her commitment to reinterpreting ancient narratives through a contemporary lens.

Echoes of Ancient Greece: A Modern Feminist Dialog

Artist Sabine Werner’s latest exhibition, A Woman’s Monster, now showing at the Donkey Gallery from March 29th to April 26th, is a compelling exploration of ancient Greek mythology and its relevance to contemporary feminist discourse. Werner masterfully employs a trio of materials – marble remnants, clay, and untold stories – to challenge traditional interpretations and amplify marginalized female voices.

The Sculptural Language of Discarded marble

Werner’s engagement with marble begins in an unconventional space: the waste heaps of marble processing sites.She seeks out fragments deemed unusable by robotic manufacturing, imbuing these discarded pieces with new meaning.

There are always stacks of remnants that have been abandoned… I shivered around them and searched for marble fragments that visually speak to me.

These fragments are then entrusted to stone artisan Gunta Pandara, who integrates them into sculptural objects. This collaboration highlights a poignant contrast: the cold precision of robotic creation juxtaposed with the nuanced touch of human artistry. This process mirrors the exhibition’s broader theme of reclaiming and reinterpreting narratives.

Clay as a Conduit to Ancient Craft and Female Archetypes

Clay serves as another vital medium in Werner’s artistic vocabulary, connecting her work to the rich history of ancient Greek craftsmanship. Inspired by a research trip through Greek archaeological museums, Werner immersed herself in the art of pottery, seeking to create objects that pay homage to the past.She collaborated with ceramic master nancy Linde to create works inspired by the pithos, a large clay jar used in ancient Greece for storing essential goods.

Werner’s exploration extends beyond the functional aspect of the pithos,delving into the myth of Pandora. The artist questions the enduring negative portrayal of Pandora, the first woman in Greek mythology, frequently enough depicted as the source of all evil.

Why not be mealy in the ancient Greek society if such is the image of the first woman?

This rhetorical question underscores Werner’s critique of patriarchal narratives and her commitment to re-evaluating female archetypes.

Unearthing Untold Stories: The Power of Feminist Perspective

werner’s artistic journey included a three-month residency in Paris, during which she meticulously studied ancient Greek artifacts at the Louvre. This immersion deepened her understanding of the visual language and cultural context of ancient Greece. She emphasizes the importance of incorporating feminist perspectives into the interpretation of historical narratives.

Werner highlights the underrepresentation of women in historical accounts, citing Pericles’ funeral oration as an example of the erasure of female voices. She argues that there is a pressing need to unearth and share previously untold stories, notably those of marginalized women like the Amazons, whose existence has been corroborated by recent bioarcheological studies. Current statistics show that women make up only 28% of speaking roles in historical films, highlighting the continued need for greater representation.

These examples have to be pulled out of oblivion and tell today… women, tell your stories, if you don’t tell them, no one will ever know about them!

Werner’s call to action resonates with the broader movement to amplify female voices and challenge dominant narratives. Her exhibition serves as a powerful reminder of the importance of reclaiming and retelling history from a feminist perspective, ensuring that the stories of women are finally heard.