Artist Anna Boros
presents
‘Everyday Matriarchal Heroines’ exhibition series.
OPENING NIGHT
Tuesday 20th November 6pm
Speakers will be
Ms Kylie Liversidge.
Ms. Emma Husar MP.
Ms Karen Dunn and Anna Boros will be singing.
Artists Talk Sunday 3pm November 26
This series of 18 large portraits of individual women are pastel drawings on canvas. It has taken almost one year to complete.
The work is about as the name title explains: Everyday Matriarchal Heroines. The females in the drawings are all real women with the real slaying of personal adversities.
Each woman has experienced some personal hell that she has had to face. Each woman kindly gave her narrative and image up for the purpose of what this series is for. This series is
for people to learn that they have real people who sometimes sit beside them in a bus, or you see walking their dog, or is in business, or catching a plane overseas etc The things we see as normal.
But behind the scenes things can be very different, and it is these women and women like them everywhere that deserve great acknowledgement, but also you can learn about heroism in the everyday…
and when you do, you too will be touched, and inspired.
How did this come about?
This series did start with an idea of me doing a series showing others what trauma and experiences I have overcome or even still overcoming in my life.
So I decided to start drawing. Two portraits later, I was actually sick of looking at myself.
There must be people out there who have gone through tragedies and horrible life experiences such as myself ? Where are they?
It was important to get this going, though revealing something most inward to the world is always a risk, it can also be very healing. Therapeutic in fact.
So, anywhere I went, and anyone I phoned, women I even met at train stations, I spoke to them about this. One lovely lady wanted to be in it after ringing
me suddenly one day just to say hello after two years of not seeing her! Others were old friends and some new friends from actually getting acquainted with strangers. They all had something to say!
I feel this is a very very important exhibition. It can be enlightening to feel that we are not alone , we do not need to feel alone. Women like company.
Often they retreat when they are not as ‘perfect’ as what society instils into them. Women like this can also feel quite marginalised. It’s pretty tough to always
be having to think about how others see us. When we have a problem, it seems more important to either hide for a bit, or to act our way out of the societal paper bag.
When we are doing quite fine, we often don’t give a toss.
We are refrained from speaking up about the very fears we have had to be courageous about.
Attitudes such as ” Look dear, you’re over it now. Why do you want to talk about it? You should be over it!”.
Wanting to talk about our ‘near death’ experiences is only for the psyches and should not be mentioned. Is that true?
People can be quite antsy about it.
In fact, talking about a problem that has been overcome has a remarkable story and lesson to it!
Another fact is that these women should be acknowledged for their courage, their tenacity, determination and willpower, their ability to still be alive.
Such is the wonder of the human spirit. Such are the hearts of these women. I really admire them and all women like them.
I noticed that some of the women felt so relieved that there were now others in a collective that they can relate with.
They also felt great about being able to tell their amazing story to me. Someone actually listened to them. Someone saw the acrobatics they learned to navigate their adversity with.
Other people think they are complaining when they tell the story. It’s awful. When in fact they seek the recognition of something they are inwardly really proud of in overcoming the chaos.
Don’t get me wrong here. This is not about vanity. These women don’t place themselves as any raging hero. In fact, all of them are terrified to go back and do it all over.
But they learnt, and they learnt the hard way, and they still are humble and they still feel ostracised by a community that sees them as ‘less than’
for ever getting themselves in the situations they found themselves in.
On the viewing side , the people that will be coming to look at this exhibition will be able to read each woman’s narrative and be inspired to know that these normal everyday women are bright,
wonderful and brainy. Many people who read the narratives on my website are really touched by their stories. People actually do survive financial hardship, destitution,
chronic illnesses and syndromes, cancers, rape, domestic beatings, wards of the state, mental illness, abandonment, and betrayals.
We can all learn from these women and all other women like them. We can also be feeling united because of them. They are not imperfect because they have had a hard time.
They have actually been perfecting themselves through life’s hard and sometimes relentless honing.
In this day and age full of what is supposed to be deemed as ‘perfection’, it can be a really hard calling for our own children to live up to.
There’s nothing like the acknowledgement of passing down real home truths, good advice, communal mindsets, and caring and empathising for others.
These women have a high pass grade in the ‘school of hard knocks’. It’s about time they were acknowledged, art worked, framed and finally placed in exhibition. Bravo!
Such is life! Please come and see this exhibition. Come and relate!
We are the ‘Everyday Matriarchal Heroines’! Deservedly so !
Anna Boros
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