Shadow: femininity, power, transcendence, absence

Abstract

This thesis aims to explore the issues surrounding the ways in which creativity might contribute not only to cultural and attitudinal change, but also, in some ways, to effecting social change. It takes visual art as its primary exemplar, using both the experience of process and outcomes of my own practice, and the work of a number of other artists, joined by their relevance to the intellectual project of the thesis, albeit often separated by time and geography. They include European modernists like Hans Arp, contemporary artists, e.g., the Americans Brice Marden and Louise Bourgeois, Japanese Yayoi Kusama, and traditional Chinese folk artist Zhang Linzhao. In line with the research embodied in my own practice, the thesis explores the philosophical and psychological texts of Taoism as a means of understanding and participating in this disruptive yin-yang world, which appears dangerously threatened, if we are to believe the reports of scientists and poets alike. In this context, I argue that ironically this is in part a result of the suppression of the Shadow, which is often seen as the negative aspect of the yin-yang dualism. In effect, the argument that drives this thesis is the need to achieve unity through yin-yang dynamic interplay. Shadow’s role is part of a spontaneous process that involves changing people’s attitudes towards the world by revealing its power and its ability to heal society’s problems. This approach is not only representative of an expansion of Taoist theory: it is new to the West. Although art cannot resolve society’s problems, it creates a link that harnesses people’s inner and outer worlds and helps them to transcend constant entanglement. In our attempts to pursue the same causes and interests, we work together using art to attain understanding, perseverance and harmony.