Jennifer Anyan
Drawings on paper, 2021.
Drawing upon the writing of Carla Lonzi and Catherine Marabou I am asserting the symbolism of the clitoris as anarchy in the body through the repetitive action of photographing and drawing mine, daily.
In patriarchal societies, the clitoris has largely been erased in the history of art and literature and so, repeatedly I draw mine, frame it and invite the gaze.
The anarchic symbolism of the clitoris as determined by Lonzi and Malabou is particularly interesting to me as a Mother and in relation to the mythology of Motherhood. The woman as Mother, particularly a Mother to more than one child and who is now in her middle age is not typically objectified in the way that young women (those of newly childbearing age) are. She has fulfilled her function, in relation to the patriarchal view of a woman's sexuality, her vagina has done its job. The clitoris however has only one job (to provide pleasure) and it serves only the woman herself. What's more, it continues to serve, it is not tied to reproduction, time, or age. In its existence, it is the emancipation of the woman beyond the mother's function and role.
