The Mythic & the Modern Jane Doe:
A Celebration of the Divine Feminine

by Pegi Eyers

new painting and mixed media by Yvonne Guerin, Pegi Eyers & Jo Mann

“The Mythic & the Modern Jane Doe” is an exploration into goddess mythology and (re)claims the iconography of the sacred female. With a deeply felt connection to a numinous presence, the artists have (re)imagined feminine archtypes, and as messengers, participate in expanding the energy of the goddess to the world. The work is a search for meaning, for what has been lost and what can be recovered. The art and artifacts from the past are keys to this reconstruction, and the work give form to the artists’ own experience. Within the creative process a personal trinity is formed, a marriage between the artist, the goddess and the mystic. The work honours woman’s natural majesty in turn as daughter, mother, sister, friend, lover, protector, mystic, priestess, ritual-maker, lady of the beasts & plants, huntress, artist, dancer, athlete, musician, teacher, visionary, poet, pathfinder, leader, healer, crone and oldest of the old. (1)

It is recognized that the inner life is the sacred territory of the goddess. This spiritual presence is a inner knowing, a connection to ancient wisdom and a source of creativity. The goddess is once again the muse, a icon of empowerment for women, a catalyst for an emerging spirituality that is earth-based, and a model for re-sanctifying the body. Goddess-inspired art continues to be confrontational, as “women dare to redefine the nature, purpose & content of art.“ (2)

“In Our Own Hands” mixed media on canvas, Jo Mann

The Great Mother has had many names and manifestations throughout human history, but all of her forms reveal one ultimate reality. Archaeological evidence confirms that Neolithic cultures worshiped a female deity - Creatrix, Genetrix, Mother of the Gods. These ancient Matriarchal cultures considered all life sacred and embraced a holistic, body-affirming, earth-centered way of life. The goddess was everywhere, within every being, and humanity was a part of nature. Worship of the goddess, the life force, was a celebration of the sensual and the erotic; an embracing of all that was alive. The spiritual quest in matriarchal culture recognized the cycle of life and was based on renewal & regeneration.

A matriarchy is not the opposite of a patriarchy, a society in which one gender exercises power at the expense of the other. The role of male divinities in a matriarchal culture would be to affirm and strengthen the forces of the creative and active female. Much that was created in a Neolithic matriarchy was the result of a “structure in which all resources of human nature, feminine and masculine, were utilized to the full as a creative force.” (3) Matriarchal societies did not split human consciousness into various categories such as art, science or religion. They had neither tenets nor scriptures. The teachings came from nature and were more closely related to indigenous traditions and shamanism.

“Scythian Queen” mixed media, Pegi Eyers

“The misanthropic dismemberments that came with the patriarchy were alien to matriarchal societies, since their worldview held that all existing things were embedded in the grand context of life, in all its manifestations and expressions. There was no above and below, no good and evil; even death was not a great phantom of anxiety but merely a passageway to a different form of existence. A worldview having no hierarchy of values inspired each individual to view herself/himself as part of a larger community, and people as a whole to recognize themselves as part of a larger nature. These relationships and this holistic way of thinking were so self-evident to those earlier, matriarchal peoples that they did not require the divisive concepts imposed later by monotheistic religions.” (4)

Integration has never been achieved in monotheistic religions. Rather, they have led to an ever-increasing separation of culture from nature. The patriarchal oppression of women has been both the cause and symptom of a fundamental imbalance in society and a lack of wholeness in the world. This can be changed by woman’s own perceptions and creativity.

Symbols and images associated with the various manifestations of the Great Goddess appear in the work, including the colours red and indigo, standing stones, the moon, the sacred fire, spirals, healing waters, the harvest, snakes, birds and oracle bones. With a new understanding of the relationship of the feminine life force to the creative process, the work becomes a healing & devotional act. Our art is not about the idealization of women but about life, connection, and responsibility, and the possibility of embracing the mystery of the goddess as a living tradition in our time. As a celebration of goddesses past, present and future, we offer a vision of the fully empowered modern woman aware of her spiritual heritage as an embodiment of the great goddess, and actively engaged in the transformation of self and culture.

“Nike” mixed media, Yvonne Guerin

Notes & Sources
(1) Burleigh Muten - Return of the Great Goddess
(2) Judy Chicago
(3) Marija Gimbutas - The Language of the Goddess
(4) Heide Gottner-Abendroth - The Dancing Goddess: Principles of a Matriarchal Aesthetic

The Artists
Pegi Eyers is a talented visual artist, writer and independent curator. She has been known to work with various divination and oracle modalities. The Celtic goddess Yvonne Guerin is a visual artist and arts administrator working in oils, watercolour and photography. She paints portraits, still life and the human form. Her most recent project is learning to play the guitar. Jo Mann, an exceptional multi-media visual artist, is also a local gallery administrator, gypsy & bone collector.

“The Mythic and the Modern Jane Doe” Exhibition
@ Akin The Space Next Door,
Cossar Art Centre, Feb. 13 - 26, 2004, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada

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