Last weekend marked the close of Women's History Month 31st anniversary. My mother, Jody, and I both had the honor to commemorate it with a month long show called "Girlhood" in Beacon, NY. For those who couldn't make it, we've shared our stories and pictures below. Special thanks to the Howland Cultural Center and Bibiana Matheis for her dedication and hard work in curating this special show.
The Thaw
by Eileen Le Guillou
Girlhood is a complicated question - regardless of age, the question arises: is it in the past?
The act of stepping back into the lens of girlhood is a brave one - one that forces us to compare our past with our present. We are forced to honor our choices and the inevitable roads not taken. While old fears and worries may remain we can also appreciate that many of the constraints we faced no longer hold us back. We can revisit the dreams that carried us forward, reigniting elements of our girlhood - whimsy, faith in the unknown, open-mindedness and excitement for the future. We can bring these gems of girlhood into womanhood to build a better future for ourselves, the world around us, and the generations after us.
Memories and lessons have sat within all of us at a time frozen in a shell of fear, dismissal, unawareness. And now here they thaw. Photographs, objects, clippings, and creations trigger the inspiration and deep feelings they once evoked. Recreating girlhood in order to unlocks the goodness that inspires.
Girlhood Calling
Jody Harrow
Outwardly my family was fashionable, modern and upwardly mobile. My assemblage shows that seemingly happy life with no lack of material possessions briefly broken by an episode of early nascent strife. One of my earliest extant drawings show a lone leaf falling from its branch. The other sketch is of a cowering figure. They both reveal my pervasive feeling of separateness within the family unit.
Recently having a opportunity to go through my father’s belongings after his passing and then questioning my mother about papers around my birth found in his safe, I’ve begun to unravel some untold stories lurking behind my familial, girlhood roots.
In my childhood we spent many winters vacationing in Florida where for countless hours, mesmerized by beach shells, I looked at collected these ocean-formed treasures. They inhabit this assemblage along with my newest creation of candle-lit globes. They contain my most recent finds - discarded glass honed by the sea and washed onto the shore. With age, I find myself circling back to that which inspired me in my youth.
In the mid 80’s I designed and constructed a series of collapsible boxes. My childhood contents sit in one of these boxes. My ‘ransom notes’ are written messages between my younger self and the person I've become. Many of these notes have another meaning as they call out directly to you - the viewer.