Wildeye: A Female Gaze into Nature
Franklin Arts Centre 13/04 - 25/05
Steel Gallery, 12 Massey Avenue, Pukekohe 2120
’Wildeye: A Female Gaze Into Nature’ by artist Robbi Carvalho explores the deep connection between female diversity and nature.
Carvalho's art addresses women's mental health, celebrating authentic beauty and diverse bodies, moving beyond Eurocentric ideals. Her dreamlike creations seamlessly merge women and landscapes.
While intimate in its female essence, “Wildeye'” warmly welcomes women of all ages and families. Spectators are encouraged to embrace a sense of belonging and respect for womanhood.
DOMESTICATED
A collaboration with ceramicist Catherine Guevara
Photos: Diego Barbosa
Performers: Heather Grant, Catherine Guevara, Robbi Carvalho
The set of ceramic pieces consists of a choker, blinkers, mouth gag, and rings.
Servile, obedient, available, submissive, perfect, soft-spoken, thin, mother, fragile, emotional, passive, young—these are the expectations imposed upon women, even if they don't fit them.
"Domesticated" are unwearable, inappropriate, and uncomfortable jewels. They constrain and silence us, limiting our movement and freedom.
Domesticated A collaboration with ceramicist Catherine Guevara Photos: Diego Barbosa Performers: Heather Grant, Catherine Guevara, Robbi Carvalho The set of ceramic pieces consists of a choker, blinkers, mouth gag, and rings. Servile, obedient, available, submissive, perfect, soft-spoken, thin, mother, fragile, emotional, passive, young—these are the expectations imposed upon women, even if they don't fit them. "Domesticated" are unwearable, inappropriate, and uncomfortable jewels. They constrain and silence us, limiting our movement and freedom.
CLIMACTERIC WOMAN
Climacteric women: their untold stories hidden in the shadows, whispers of their dreams carried away by the wind. Pulsating carnal desires left unacknowledged; wisdom betrayed by the fallibility of memory. Faces that once gazed in the mirror now reflect strangers. Bodies heavy, wet, burned, and melted. Silenced pains, finite cycles.
In this series of paintings, the body is represented by a house. 'Climacteric Woman' celebrates an unspoken chapter in a woman's life, a weight often carried quietly. It invites you to amplify your voice, resignify your dreams, and reclaim the beauty you were told was lost.
*Note: The climacteric encompasses the period that includes perimenopause, menopause, and post-menopause. Symptoms associated with climacteric include hot flushes, night sweats, fatigue, headache, dizziness, numbness, sore limbs, decreased attention, anxiousness, nervousness, insomnia, mood swings, sorrow, depression, etc.
SELF-REFLECTION
This composition emerged from a transformative self-portrait workshop attended by 40 women from the community. This initiative went beyond traditional arts education, highlighting the significant role art plays in bolstering mental health, fostering self-exploration, encouraging self-care, and celebrating individual identity. A portion of this workshop involved collaboration with women who are members of Well Women, a peer support group dedicated to assisting women and their families in Franklin and Papakura who are navigating the challenges of antenatal or postnatal distress and anxiety (https://www.wellwomenfranklin.org.nz)
