Transnational Belonging and Female Agency in the Arts

Transnational Belonging and Female Agency in the Arts interrogates the politics of space expressed via womxn’s artistic practices, which prioritise solidarity and collaboration across borders, imagining attentive geographies of difference. It considers belonging as a manifestation of processes of becoming that traverse borders and generate new spaces and forms of difference. In doing so, the book aims to catalyse mutual social relations founded upon responsibility and response-ability to each other. The transnational framework activates concerns around belonging at a time of intensified divisions, partitioning global narratives, unequal trajectories and increasing violence against bodies of the most vulnerable, largely founded on Eurocentric paradigms of political, economic and cultural superiority. The contributors engage in a conversation signalling transversal thinking and artmaking in order to articulate and activate ‘in-between’ spaces. This is to welcome co-affective models of belonging that question versatile embodiments of subjectivity as both agentic and as interrelational. Organised around the triangulation of modes of belonging: spatial, affective and collective, overarched by a transnational lens that acknowledges non-hierarchical, local and socially relevant genealogies against universalising politics of globalisation, these essays consider afresh ways in which female agency disrupts borders and activates concerns around different forms of belonging, citizenship and transnationalisms. The book interrogates the politics of space expressed via womxn’s artistic practices, which prioritise solidarity and collaboration across borders, imagining attentive geographies of difference. It considers belonging as a manifestation of processes of becoming that traverse borders and generate new spaces and forms of difference. The book aims to catalyse mutual social relations founded upon responsibility and response-ability to each other. The transnational framework activates concerns around belonging at a time of intensified divisions, partitioning global narratives, unequal trajectories and increasing violence against bodies of the most vulnerable, largely founded on Eurocentric paradigms of political, economic and cultural superiority. Contributors to the volume engage in a conversation signalling transversal thinking and artmaking in order to articulate and activate ‘in-between’ spaces. This is to welcome co-affective models of belonging that question versatile embodiments of subjectivity as both agentic and as interrelational. The book is organised around the triangulation of modes of belonging: spatial, affective and collective, overarched by transnational lens that acknowledges nonhierarchical, local and socially relevant genealogies against universalising politics of globalisation. Cover Halftitle page Title page Copyright page Contents Plates Figures Acknowledgements Basia Catherine Introduction Note References 1 Frayed and Fraying: Textile Actions and the Edges of Belonging In the Fray The Spatial Logic of the Fray Fraying the Self Mending Agency Conclusion Note References 2 Species of Space: Marisol, Marta Minujín and Nicola L on Party-Going, Domestic Mayhem and Nomadism Marisol: On Party-Going Nicola L: Nomadism Minujín: Domestic Mayhem Conclusion Notes References 3 ‘with my portapak on my back’: Identity and Belonging in Shigeko Kubota’s Broken Diary Transnational Videoscapes: Kubota’s Portapak Groove Red, White and Video: Kubota’s Feminist Transculturalism in the US of A Notes References 4 Patty Chang: Body, Performance and Transnational Border Crossings Minor and the Autonomous Region Marriage, Namesake, Citizenship and the Commodity of Love Notes References 5 Borderless and Undocumented: Day by Day in Southeast Asia Un-Identities: Metonyms for a Transnational Community The Invisibility Cloak: Metonyms for Working Women Conclusion Notes References 6 Suspended: Bahar Behbahani’s Displacement and Longing in the Persian Garden Remapping the Archive Spatial Memories Suspended Saffron Tea Behind the Mirrors Notes References 7 Through Walls and Windows: Irene Buarque’s Work in the 1970s From São Paulo to Lisbon Confronting Walls Opening Windows Notes References 8 Disrupting Subaltern Geographies: The Artistic Intersections of Belkis Ayón Abakuá Secrecy as Agency Womanhood Asserted, Secrets Revealed Notes References 9 Keren Anavy’s Garden of Living Images: Transnational Landscapes as Spaces of Ecological Order Artificial Environments Garden of Living Images Home and Shelter Utopia Water and Mourning Notes References 10 Collective Agency: Creative Communities in Australian Feminist Art Introduction Local Global: Reconsidering Australian Art and Feminism Feminism and Art in Australia: Creative Communities and Collective Agency Conclusion Notes References 11 ‘Woman Writing’ as a Curatorial Method: Narratives of Belonging in the Art Practices of Chantal Peñalosa and Bridget Smith Transnational Dialogues and Curatorial Practice Chantal Peñalosa: The Border Is Also an Atmosphere Bridget Smith: Blueprint for a Sea Conclusion Notes References 12 A Smuggler, a Butcher and a Fairy: Doing Things with One’s Body The Smuggler: Belonging as a Flash The Butcher: Gendered Vulnerability The Fairy: Bon Voyage! Notes References 13 Nieme Szaty Królowej (Queen’s Silent Robes): A Collective Walk Reclaiming Female Bodily Agency through Transnational Solidarity Queen’s Silent Robes and Anti-Gender Rhetoric in Poland Transnational Vulnerability towards a ‘We’ Persistent Walking Disruptive Collective Subject Catholic Immaculate Femininity Staining and Emancipatory Narratives Transnational Budding Notes References Contributors Index Plates Transnational Belonging and Female Agency in the Arts interroge les politiques de l'espace exprimées à travers les pratiques artistiques de womxn, qui privilégient la solidarité et la collaboration au-delà des frontières, imaginant des géographies attentives de la différence. Elle considère l'appartenance comme une manifestation de processus de devenir qui traversent les frontières et génèrent de nouveaux espaces et formes de différence. Ce faisant, le livre vise à catalyser des relations sociales mutuelles fondées sur la responsabilité et la capacité de réponse les uns envers les autres. Le cadre transnational active les inquiétudes autour de l'appartenance à une époque de divisions intensifiées, de cloisonnement des récits mondiaux, de trajectoires inégales et de violence croissante contre les corps des plus vulnérables, largement fondées sur des paradigmes eurocentriques de supériorité politique, économique et culturelle. Les contributeurs s'engagent dans une conversation signalant une réflexion et une création artistique transversales afin d'articuler et d'activer des espaces « intermédiaires ». Il s'agit d'accueillir des modèles co-affectifs d'appartenance qui remettent en question des incarnations polyvalentes de la subjectivité à la fois agentique et interrelationnelle. Organisés autour de la triangulation des modes d'appartenance : spatial, affectif et collectif, surmontés d'une lentille transnationale qui reconnaît les généalogies non hiérarchiques, locales et socialement pertinentes contre les politiques d'universalisation de la mondialisation, ces essais examinent à nouveau les façons dont l'agence féminine perturbe les frontières et active préoccupations autour des différentes formes d'appartenance, de citoyenneté et de transnationalismes Transnational Belonging and Female Agency in the Arts interrogates the politics of space expressed via womxn's artistic practices, which prioritise solidarity and collaboration across borders, imagining attentive geographies of difference. It considers belonging as a manifestation of processes of becoming that traverse borders and generate new spaces and forms of difference. In doing so, the book aims to catalyse mutual social relations founded upon responsibility and response-ability to each other. The transnational framework activates concerns around belonging at a time of intensified divisions, partitioning global narratives, unequal trajectories and increasing violence against bodies of the most vulnerable, largely founded on Eurocentric paradigms of political, economic and cultural superiority. The contributors engage in a conversation signalling transversal thinking and artmaking in order to articulate and activate 'in-between' spaces. This is to welcome co-affective models of belonging that question versatile embodiments of subjectivity as both agentic and as interrelational. Organised around the triangulation of modes of belonging: spatial, affective and collective, overarched by a transnational lens that acknowledges non-hierarchical, local and socially relevant genealogies against universalising politics of globalisation, these essays consider afresh ways in which female agency disrupts borders and activates concerns around different forms of belonging, citizenship and transnationalisms. Cover Image credit: Keren Anavy, Garden of Living Images (2018), general installation view (detail). Courtesy of the artist and Wave Hill. Photographer: Stefan Hagen