Talk
Art of the Maker: Monica Sjöö
24 Jan 2024
Regular hours
- Wed, 24 Jan
- 18:30 – 20:30
Cost of entry
£8/£5 concessions
Address
- 16 Narrow Quay
- Bristol, BS1 4QA
- Bristol
England - BS1 4QA
- United Kingdom
Travel Information
- Most city centre bus services stop within walking distance of Arnolfini. The nearest stops are at The Centre and Queen Square.
- Arnolfini is a 15 minute walk from Bristol Temple Meads railway station. A taxi rank can be found outside the station.
Discover Monica Sjöö's overlooked art in a major Moderna Museet and Modern Art Oxford show. Join an in-conversation with Amy Budd and Su Fahy for insights into Sjöö's powerful and relevant work.
About
Monica Sjöö – self-described ‘radical anarcho/eco-feminist and Goddess artist, writer and thinker involved in Earth spirituality’ – was born in Sweden in 1938, moved to the UK, lived in Bristol and died in 2005. Her life was touched with tragedy but her resilience was immense. Her art was intertwined with activism, feminism and goddess worship – she didn’t believe in a spirituality that wasn’t political.
One of her best-known paintings God Giving Birth (1968) – which depicts the Creator as a monumental full-frontal, naked Black woman birthing her child – resulted in Sjöö being threatened with prosecution for obscenity and blasphemy and was removed from display three times.
For many years largely ignored by the mainstream art world, her work is being celebrated in a major survey show co-organised by Moderna Museet in Stockholm and Modern Art Oxford. This talk, an in-conversation between Amy Budd (Modern Art Oxford) and Su Fahy (Monica Sjöö Curatorial Collective), will explore Sjöö’s remarkable work, and its powerful ongoing relevance.
