Catherine Bell

Image: Catherine Bell, Snow Baby, 2003, performance still, Courtesy of Sutton Gallery, Melbourne.

Love And Other Bruises

Exhibition dates: 7 to 15 December
Opening: Wednesday 5 December, 5-7pm

The body of visual work outlines what I see as a peculiar impetus of the research to focus on the personal and public trauma.  My performance has emerged as an antidote to dealing with the social crisis, like the ceremonies that accompany them, as private restorative ritual. 

This methodology is related to relevant anthropological theories about social drama and how it may lend itself to ritualisation.  I relate these works to shamanic curing or initiation ceremonies because they emulate a process of transformation. 

The exhibition follows the evolution of my artistic process into cathartic rituals where my body acts as a site for exploring female identity, personal history and subversive behaviour.   

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