Katarzyna Majak "Julia, An Independent Witch; Enenna, Wiccan Coven Leader; Maria Ela, Shaman Wise Women Council"
Katarzyna Majak takes stunning photographs of pagan women from her native Poland. You can view them in person via her "Women of Power" show up now at Porter Contemporary through July 14th. I love this description, too:
Katarzyna Majak explores the power of women as she searches for female wisdom and plurality of spiritual paths hidden within monoreligious Polish society. Majak’s Women of Power series turns stereotypical witch imagery on its head and showcases striking images of women ranging from their 30’s to 80's, wearing colorful unconventional clothes, and holding their unique objects of power. When asked what being a witch meant to one of the subjects in the series, she replied ‘A witch is a woman of knowledge who takes a broom and sweeps to cleanse the world.’
The women of wisdom, healers, enchanters, visionaries and spiritual leaders depicted in Majak’s vibrant photographs often facing discrimination, have taken great risk in being photographed. This is the first time many of them owned their power publicly. Majak’s journey with the Women of Power began when one of them accompanied her in a ritual to say ‘good-bye’ to her wedding dress, and the journey continued from woman to woman as the artist became fascinated with their alternative wisdoms on female power.
Porter Contemporary is the only U.S venue to show Women of Power. The show will then go on tour to: the Central European House of Photography in Slovakia in December 2012, the Ethnographic Museum in Slovenia later this year, the Modern Museum in Wroclaw in 2013 and Bielska Gallery in Poland in 2013, among other venues. A book by the artist that includes interviews with the wise women and their portraits is also on the way.
Wow. That sounds amazing. I'll have to check out more of those photos.
Posted by: Artist in LA LA Land | June 15, 2012 at 02:05 PM