Double-Edged Sword

Medium Description

I use the traditional feminine craft of embroidery, taught to me by great-grandmother, to discuss the generational trauma inherited by Fundamentalist women. Velvet and arched wooden frame allude to the materials of church pews, and serve as religious iconography. The pearls, in addition to the more universal symbolism, were bequeathed to me by my grandmother; they hail from her jewelry making practice highlighting the long line of domestic feminine craft within my own family. Media: Mixed Media; Czech beads, cultured pearls, glass beads, wire, velvet, metal, wooden frame

Artist Description

Interactive: Pull the sword to move the beaded dragon’s wings. Interactive elements and the tactile qualities of my work incite a desire to touch, prompting viewers to wrestle with the question of what is appropriate.

Pulling from biblical and other religious symbolism, this interactive piece considers the gender based double standards within Fundamental Christianity, highlighting the dualistic perception of women who are expected to be godly while simultaneously maintaining ignorance of how to do so. More specifically, this work discusses the Southern Baptist Convention’s stance on female leadership and access to spiritual knowledge. In this environment, women are often infantilized and deemed unworthy of interpreting scriptures without male guidance, much less well enough to educate men on such matters. Throughout the Bible, the sword represents wisdom, discernment, justice, and God’s Word. A double-edged sword is also used to represent a sharp tongue with the potential to divide or unite. In many cultures, dragons are symbolic of wisdom. However, in the Bible, the dragon embodies chaos, evil, destruction, and oppression. In Revelation, the dragon is waiting to devour the anticipated child of a pregnant woman, thought to be a metaphor for the birth of Jesus and how oppressive systems attempt to suppress those who challenge them. In this way, patriarchal Fundamentalism considers the feminine pursuit of spiritual knowledge to be a demonic force of chaos and evil, ironically resulting in the system becoming that which it opposes.