Being Mother: Existing in an Anarchic Body

Abstract

This thesis draws on matricentric feminist theory, visual art and academic research to establish a theory of anarchic maternal embodiment, in which the biological body is not the primary oppressive factor of a woman’s life, but could in fact be the site of emancipation. I define the concept of anarchic maternal embodiment as the cognisant engagement with the maternal body as a locus for feminist empowerment. I draw connections between Julia Kristeva’s theory of abjection and the mother-baby dyad, anarchy and the accepted symbolic order, and discuss these in conjunction with Luisa Muraro’s concept of a Symbolic Order of the Mother. Examining the art of Deidre Donoghue and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova uncovers how art can materialise concepts of anarchic maternal embodiment and abjection, and refute the patriarchal lie that mothering negates artmaking. Drawing on the theories of Griselda Pollock, Roszika Parker, Sara Ruddick, Elizabeth Richards and Rosemary Betterton, as well as the art of Rachel Epp Buller and Deirdre Donoghue, I develop a theory of matricentric feminist art practice and its basis in anarchism. The writings of bell hooks, Margot Anne Kelley and Thomas Knauer are employed to demonstrate the connective power of women’s creative work, and my research builds on this through the exploration of how crochet has facilitated connection between the women of my matrilineal line. I discuss the objects made by my maternal great grandmothers as artworks in their own right, analysing their impact on my own practices as artist, researcher and mother. It is my assertion that visual art’s illimitable quality makes it an ideal platform through which notions of matricentric feminism can be theorised, and by interrogating the specifically matricentric politics of the decorative arts, domestic work and mothering, their potential to be empowering feminist actions is made visible.