FLESH HEIROPHANIES

A heirophany is a manifestation of the sacred. Flesh Heirophanies reclaims a softness, a focus on the material body and presents the female body as a site of contemplation and devotion. In this project, I reflect on the influence of institutional power on the cis female body through the theories of feminist philosophers Elizabeth Grosz and Judith Butler, and my own experiences in the Catholic Church. Grosz and Butler describe the body a social object, one which is marked by various institutional powers, laws, social imperative, customs and corporeal habits. This is true of the female body, particularly in a Western Christian context. In response, I use my own body, and rituals associated with my body to deconstruct and challenge patriarchal Christian notions of ritual and sacred. I also use materials such as wax, latex, olive oil and lace which have their own agency, transformative potential and connection to the body. My works create a shrine like environment, a private place of devotion and contemplation.