Maintenance of the Gynaeceum:

Abstract

The two suites of the gynaeceum exhibited are composed of fragments, details: memories, stories and dreams from my life and the lives of others. (1) These fragments, these details are valued. They are essential voices, artifacts in the examination of our existence as women in society. In Western culture it is impossible to locate what is ours as women. We are seen by the "other" and learn to see ourselves as figures, manipulated and adorned, whose achievements are artifice. It is the voice, the body, the perceptions of women that this exhibit records and re-presents in order to create a dialogue between "ourselves" and "others". These two suites of the gynaeceum are the first of many which are intended to encourage that dialogue. The first suite, Personal Maintenance, and the second Hairstories, will be followed by a suite which focuses on women's participation in plastic surgery. In the expansion of suites in the future, I am interested in collaborating with other women in an exploration of women's psychologies and bodies in western culture.