Station 8

Blessed are the Barren
Pen and ink on watercolour paper
46 x 95.5 cm (framed)

Jesus said “Daughters of Jerusalem do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For behold the days are coming when they will say, blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never gave suck. Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us’; and to the hills, ‘Cover us.’ For if they do this when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?”

Many interpretations of this verse are that Jesus was warning of a catastrophe. With climate change, these days are upon us. Disconcertingly, women having control over their own reproductive rights remains a controversial topic, despite the fact that it is an effective solution to so much harm and suffering. In consideration of these ideas I have reflected upon my own journey as a woman, mother, and feminist, deciding to present a Memento Mori piece.

Rather than dwell on horrors, I have taken pleasure in the work; collecting fresh fruit to sketch, connecting the work to the holy lands with symbols of fertility; fig and pomegranate. The grapevines represent new growth and faith, meant by the phrase “when the wood is green”. I have also depicted a female pelvic bone rather than a skull, taking the focus away from the intellect and re-imagining alternative ways of knowing.

If Memento Mori art declares “remember that you must die” then this version might be interpreted as “…remember that you were born”. After all, we were all once carried inside this elegant structure. I have not included a clock, an hourglass or a guttering candle, implicit is the suggestion of the biological clock. My biological rhythm is a constant reminder of the cycle of life. I believe that feminism and reconnecting humanity with the natural world are ways forward through disaster.

Biography

Gemma Ben-Ary is an independent visual artist and curator based in Perth, Western Australia and is also the Executive Director of the Ellenbrook Cultural Foundation, a not-for- profit organisation that delivers an annual community engagement program within the Ellenbrook locality. She is also a board member of the Mundaring Arts Centre and Chairperson of the exhibition committee. In previous appointments she has worked in local government roles, as the Curator for the City of Joondalup, and the Arts and Cultural Development Officer for the Shire of Kalamunda. Gemma holds a Bachelor of Arts with a major in Visual Arts and a minor in Writing, from Edith Cowan University, and an Advanced Certificate of Visual Arts (Fine Art), with a major in Sculpture, from Central TAFE. In her own artistic practice Gemma is interested in feminist theory, ecology and contemporary craft, and has an Artsource studio in Midland. Gemma lives in Darlington with her husband, who is also an artist, and two children.