Magical Women

A must now that occult themes and rituals are enjoying a comeback in mainstream culture. From witches and clairvoyants to high priestesses in various cultures across the world, femininity and the magical are inextricably linked. Artists have taken up this age-old association by creating ambiguous pictures, posing questions and reclaiming their right of interpretation. The link between women and magic has long shaped beliefs and notions of femininity, while also creating a pretext for demonising women in order to reinforce patriarchal social structures. For artists of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, these associations offer an exciting opportunity to explore themes such as body and gender, female sexuality and identity and the defining of character traits often from a feminist perspective. Myrlande Constant, Cordula Ditz, Mary Beth Edelson, Bev Grant / W.I.T.C.H., Vivian Greven, Rebecca Horn, Ana Mendieta, Zanele Muholi, Wangechi Mutu, Rosana Paulino, Paloma Proudfoot, Gillian Wearing, Portia Zvavahera