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Lady Caterpillar

New Works Exhibition was the culmination exhibition of STAC 2020 Residency Programme. Two other artists beside myself were selected to participate in the residency. However, the arrival of Covid-19 meant that the show opened behind closed doors.


 

             
             
                                                                             

Exhibition: New Works – Opened October 8th 2020

South Tipperary arts Centre, Clonmel

 

Lady Caterpillar is fashioned from suffocating layers of hand-stitched fabric constructed from up-cycled female clothes; these layers are suspended from two crisscrossed mops emulating a puppeteer’s control over its puppet; the puppet acts as a metaphor for the control the abuser has over their victim. Lady Caterpillar reflects on the strength and endurance of a woman as she overcomes oppression on a daily basis, with each layer she gets stronger shedding her patriarchal constraints, the caterpillar symbolizes that journey to freedom, just as the caterpillar leaves its cocoon to become a butterfly so too does the female battling ongoing coercion and control to take ownership over her own life. This journey by her is not an easy one; ‘Lady Caterpillar’ celebrates the strength and endurance of women as they overcome misogyny and repression. Domestic tropes within the installation are representative of the females’ entrapment within the home, kept down by a macho society. The mug is a commentary at how limited women's choices are perceived. The puppet master is used as a metaphor / symbol of this oppression.