Mile End’s Art Pavilion recently hosted the exhibition Utopia, a collection of works by 60 different artists all coming together to celebrate Ecofeminism. So I decided to go.
I knew almost nothing about the ecofeminist movement, and quickly discovered that it was more established than I had anticipated.
On entering the Pavilion I felt surrounded by shapes, and colours, out of which artist and curator Judit Prieto stepped to greet me. Part of her explanation of the show and the concepts behind it can be heard if you click on the movie below the text.
The exhibition was split into four sections with four different themes: Icons & Goddesses; Femme; Ecology; and ECOFemme. A lot of the work took the form of different portrayals of women in nature. Some of it had a kind of radiance that drew me towards its light. And where the content was darker, I wanted to pause and look deeper into that dark.
One piece that really grabbed my attention was Sight-Lotus Flower by Judit who I had just met. The flower was white, and the more I looked at it the more it appeared to move around against its blue background.
Judit explained that she wanted to merge traditional ideas of the lotus flower as representing rebirth, with other ideas about women’s awakening and how we connect with nature and the seasons.
There was a lot to see and as someone who does not go to art exhibitions often, I found the variety of forms and approaches just breathtaking.
What they all had in common of course was the theme of the exhibition, which Judit explained was not just about the connection between women and nature. The other ‘message’ on these walls was that we all have a responsibility to leave the planet in a better shape than we found it. Or as she put it: “It’s about leaving your heart behind.”