ELDER
WORK IN PROGRESS: The exhibition and artwork for Elders Project is the initial stage of a much bigger project, based around changing how older people in western society are viewed.
It will tangibly demonstrate how older women in particular, can be seen as 'elders' in western culture, taking a leaf from our First Nations Indigenous culture.
I plan to interview 12 'Elders' and create 12 very large portraits of them.
The portraits will be adorned with vibrant, colourful headdresses, that portray the wisdom they have flowing from their minds, and are willing to share.
There will be an adorning day, where the portraits will be further adorned by your get people, who look up to the Elder.
They will quite literally look up to them,
honour them and adorn them with gold and silver,
to create artworks that are interactive and empowering to both the featured
‘Elder’ and the ‘Younger’.
WHY ELDERS?
Middle aged women are considered one of the most vulnerable groups in Australian society, in regards to homelessness and domestic violence.
It is also anecdotally well known that many middle aged women feel 'invisible'. Off course, they actually have a lot of knowledge, experience and wisdom to offer. Western society usually sees these people as simply getting old, and their wisdom is not valued.
I feel if we can start using the word ‘Elder’, people who fit this category can be looked up to, rather than feel invisible. The Elder Project will empower women to know they have something to offer, even after they have raised a family or hit retirement age.
The Elder Project is one way to bridge intergenerational divides. It will provide role models for youth, who feel they have little to no guidance from people other than their parents.
Empowering 'elders' to offer wisdom and guidance will empower both the elder and the youth.
Participants will benefit from the empowerment offered from being part of this project. They will develop confidence as elders because they will be called Elder, as well as the chance to participate in formal training to help with confidence and communicating with younger people in a safe, respectful way.
The project will alter the way we see and think about older women.
By running an event where youth are invited to adorn the portraits in the gallery, they will quite literally be looking up to the Elder portraits.
This project, at its very least, will start a conversation about what it means to be 'elder'.
MAIN ELEMENTS OF THE PROJECT:
Interviews
Documentation
Portraits
Exhibition
Honouring Day
Adorning Day
Street Art
Projection Art