A new exhibition at the House of Smalls called ‘We Are The Witches’ prompted me to create a new piece of work called ‘Crone’ for the Dollhouse gallery.
“Being a witch means living in this world consciously, powerfully, and unapologetically.” ~ Gabriela Herstik.
The exhibition takes place at The House of Smalls, Cambrook Court, High Street, Chipping Campden, Glos GL55 6AT from 11th November – 16th December 2023.
About ‘Chrone’
“The witches in fairy stories are almost invariably old women, like the crone—withered and malevolent. Old women no longer have to contend with the vagaries of the desiring gaze, and without an inherent eroticism a woman is a creature even less knowable than before. Being a witch promises us a lodestone: a legacy, a lineage of women, weird and wise, who came before us. And it promises a compass with which to navigate the unknowable territory of growing older.” Sam George-Allen.
As a woman in my 50’s I’ve never really thought of myself as old. This year however, something happened that made me think differently.
I was sitting alone in a train station, minding my own business, and avoiding engaging in conversation with two young men. One moved in close, called me a ‘Cranky Old Woman’ and both walked away. I felt uncomfortable and I know it was meant as an insult, but it really made me think.
As women we go through years of unwanted attention from men to suddenly becoming invisible to them – but when do we cross this invisible line in time? – and at what point in our lives are we perceived by society as old, crones or witches?
Size 11.5 x 11.5cm. Hand embroidered cotton cloth, vintage Sylko thread.
Update: ‘We are the Witches’ Exhibition
I’m enjoying making small artworks that fit in perfectly with the scale of the Dollhouse exhibition.
