Rituals and their locations: Women Artists and Spiritualities — AWARE Archives of Women Artists, Research and Exhibitions

Artwork is an integral part of most religious liturgies, by way of ritual objects used during ceremonies or the architecture of places of worship, the iconography and ornamentation of which are precious instruments in the establishment of what is considered sacred. As in many other fields of art, only been a minority of women artists have been involved in these productions. However, some were able to reappropriate the realm of the spititual by projecting onto it their own conception of religions and their rituals. Berlinde de Bruyckere (b. 1964), for instance, offers a very melancholic and dark vision of Christianity, which focuses on the depiction of suffering and echoes her work on the body and intimacy. In a very different way, the sculptures of Shirazeh Houshiary (born in 1955) use the aesthetic codes of Islamic architecture to enhance their delicateness and subtlety. In several of her videos and cave sculptures, Ana Mendieta (1948-1985) took an interest in Cuban religions predating European colonisation by visiting caves where goddesses that she associates with her own reflection on the link between nature, physicality and femininity were once worshipped. Mariko Mori (born in 1967), on the other hand, is not fascinated by ancient idols but by new ones; in Miko no inori (Shaman-girl’s prayer, 1996), she filmed herself conducting a futuristic shamanic prayer dressed up as a cybernetic mistress of ceremony.

Whether adopting a critical stance on these beliefs or choosing to exalt them, all these artists propose a commentary on religions, on the way they are practised or the places in which they thrive in order to better make them their own, as well as to encourage us to question our relationship to spirituality and its codes.

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1949 | Philippines

Agnes Arellano

1971 | Madagascar

Malala Andrialavidrazana

1967 — 1999 | Cuba

Belkis Ayón

1949 | Algeria

Samta Benyahia

1944 | United States

Linda Connor

1964 | Belgium

Berlinde De Bruyckere

1955 | Iran

Shirazeh Houshiary

1939 | Sudan

Kamala Ibrahim Ishaq

1948 — Cuba | 1985 — United States

Ana Mendieta

1967 | Japan

Mariko Mori

1940 — 2018 | Australia

Phyllis Booljoonngali Thomas

1922 — 2019 | Iran

Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian

1881 — United Kingdom | 1962 — Switzerland

Olga Fröbe-Kapteyn

1959 | Mexico

Silvia Gruner

1926 | United States

Betye Saar

1971 | United States

Shinique Smith

1935 — 1974 | Brazil

Maria Auxiliadora da Silva

1924 — China | 2011 — Australia

Irene Chou

1946 | New Zealand

Liz Coats

1956 | Saudi Arabia

Hend Al-Mansour

1924 — 2015 | Australia

Mirdidingkingathi Juwarnda Sally Gabori

1960 | Argentina

Mónica Millán

1899 — 1925 | Hungary

Erzsébet Korb

1864 — 1942 | France

Séraphine Louis, dite de Senlis

1947 | Poland

Yocheved Weinfeld

1969 | Israel

Nira Pereg

1946 | Serbia

Marina Abramović

1959 | Australia

Judy Watson

1924 — 2005 | Haïti

Louisiane Saint-Fleurant

1968 | Haiti

Myrlande Constant

1962 | Peru

Lastenia Canayo García (Pecón Quena)

1947 | Palestina

Juhaina Habibi Kandalaft

1948 | Lebanon

Afaf Zurayk

1947 | Palestine

Nechama Golan

1945 | Lebanon

Seta Manoukian (Ani Pema Drolma)

1922 — Hungary | 2020 — United Kingdom

Suzanne Perlman

1958 | United States

Renee Stout

1971 | French Guiana

Nathalie Leroy Fiévée

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