Philosopher, the Female Wisdom
2013- 2019
This philosophical project celebrates the powerful presence of independent women thinkers, reformers and mystics through the ages, from all parts of the world, and imagines their reappearance today. The history of philosophy has been dominated, almost exclusively, by men leaving the important contributions of women to the discipline invisible. To address this imbalance I offer an exclusively feminine perspective presenting ‘myself’ through a series of images as the embodiment of various female philosophers, through history, whose wisdom continues to deserve recognition.
I present the philosophers in an iconographic way consistent with modern media discourse. This approach enables me to show how female philosophers have shaped their own reality and defined what it means to be a female philosopher. By exploring the visual similarities between past and current philosophers I reveal a timeless vision of the female philosopher. I present the images as realist fictions using transformations and replications to show the women in different contexts that cast light on the meaning and value of their ideas.
The female philosophers I’ve chosen offer visionary, and often revolutionary, ideas challenging the male preponderance of the philosophical canon. Focusing on the female perspective provides a new way of looking at individualism and the human relationship with the natural environment in the modern world. And ultimately it leads to a new grammar and terminology for contemporary art so that gender is better included – an electrifying moment when the personal has become political.