Seven Sisters, 2018
embroidery and cyanotype on cotton
with accompanying website and bookwork
Scientific reasoning has deduced answers for so much uncertainty previously felt in the world, but there is still a large gap in the human understanding of our own universe. The far-reaching expanse of space is still filled with mystery; which many people mythologize, but few have the chance to physically explore. Investigating how notions of magic and lore are connected to and represented along side scientific hypotheses through myths about how the cosmos works, this project aims to overlap subjective information (stories, myths, personal connections to the stars) with scientific, fact based reasoning and documentation, questioning the value of each of these dichotomous ways of thinking.
Seven Sisters is a series of seven approximately 3 foot by 5 to 7 foot embroidered cyanotypes and an accompanying small cyanotype and embroidery artist book, which explore embodied connections to the cosmos highlighted in the myth of the Pleiades. Seven of the stars in the cluster are visible to the naked eye, but the total brightness is actually made up of the luminosity of 528 stars. I am interested in the myths related to the Pleiades or Seven Sister cluster of stars in the Taurus constellation (RA 3h 47m 24s | Dec +24° 7′ 0′′), which almost all revolve around a story sisters of a group suicide resulting in a transformation into stars to flee a male god. This idea of escapism by transformation is repeated in many cosmological stories. This formation of stars that has been documented as early as 1600 BC and provides a rich history of lore from many different cultures, all referencing connections between the body, astronomy and mythological cosmology; beliefs based on early cosmological theories of scientific and non-scientific propositions.
The way in which scientific reasoning is sometimes more highly respected leads to questioning other relationships between society and science, such as women’s historical role and representation in scientific study, how they are represented in the stories, but still have issues being recognized academically. Drawing attention to the violent acts mythological women were victims of, this project also aims to analyze how and why magic is often demonized and associated with women.
Exploring how notions of magic are connected to and represented alongside scientific hypotheses about how the world works, Seven Sisters overlays subjective information (stories, myths, personal connections to the stars) alongside scientific, fact based reasoning about the cosmos to suggest new ways of rationalizing the world around us.
Made with the support of ArtsNB.
October 7 - November 27 2021
AX, the Arts and Culture Centre of Sussex
