Review. Revered and Feared: feminine power in Art and Beliefs Exhibition - British Museum+Caixaforum
With the sponsorship and loan of original pieces from the British Museum, this exhibition stopped in Madrid (Spain) at the Caixaforum headquarters until January 14, and everything seems to predict that it will continue its tour through different cities and countries.
The exhibition itself is brief and pleasant, and although it does not specifically deal with magic or witchcraft, much of its content does refer to it, given the weight that it had on the vision of women. There are also clear magical references in ancient and non-monotheistic religions, where women and goddesses have special powers regarding intuition, waters, sexuality, fertility and, despite themselves, witchcraft and destruction. Well-known examples are the goddess Aphrodite, or the purifier Tlazolteolt. The exhibition is a pleasure to see diverse pieces that do not focus exclusively on the Western world. Thus, you can see exclusively representations of the Inuit goddess Sedna, a seal woman who encourages hunting, and who is appeased by combing her hair; masks of China Supay, wife of the Andean god Supay, and a representation of lust in the Diablada festival in Bolivia; the Nigerian Mami Wata, a symbol of power, water, wealth and royalty; Popa Medaw in Myanmar as the goddess of the sun; and of course, Astarte/Inanna, goddess of love and war. Among other better-known figures such as the Greek sorceress goddess, Hecate, the Egyptian lioness Sehkmet, or the Indian goddess of chaos, Kali.
Regarding fertility, we can observe the Irish stone Sheela-na-gig showing her vulva, as well as an Indian lingam (phallus) fitted into her yoni (vulva), very typical in Hindu temples as a symbol of fertility and universality. And also the sexual ambiguity of the divine representations of the Luba of the Congo.
It is also observable how women lose these statuses with the passage of time and the advance of monotheistic and patriarchal religions. The representations of Eve as an inexcusable sinner contrast with the pure and maternal Virgins (and their syncretisms, such as Guanyin in China). The counterpoint is Lilith, Adam's first wife, transformed into an evil spirit, and the witches followers of the devil.
Outside the traditional Western world, we also find examples, such as the witch Takiyasha in Japan, in the well-known woodcut of the giant skeleton, the fearsome Sicilian Scylla, the Cihuateteo (which we already talked about in the article on pre-Hispanic witchcraft in Mexico) or Takara, the Hindu ogress who stars on the cover of the exhibition. It should be noted that the latter are actually victims driven by anger and/or punished by the gods in a way that today we would define as unjust.
To end the exhibition, we will find a small interactive reflection on the characteristics associated with femininity, and whether visitors consider it as power or condemnation.
https://caixaforum.org/es/madrid/p/veneradas-y-temidas_a164389172
Pietro V. Carracedo Ahumada - pietrocarracedo@gmail.com
