Sonja Czekalski
 Feminist Artist

In, Viscera: A Body of Work, I consider the bloodline of my grandmother, my mother, my sister, the web of women who raised me, and Mother Earth herself. I consider the idea of visceral memory. A type of memory so deep, perhaps even cross-generational, that the mind cannot remember, yet the body can. Using natural materials and traditionally feminine craft materials and techniques passed down by my grandmother, I create each of my works from my own body and personal experience. I am interested in the interconnection between the physical, biological, and spiritual relationships between my body, my ancestry, and the earth herself.

 

I want the viewer to explore the female figure through an empathetic gaze.  I invite the viewer to question the validity of the stereotyped feminine; to experience and respond to the emotional labor, embarrassment, shame, confusion, richness, and power of female sexuality, fertility, social expectation, and responsibility. Ultimately though my practice provides more questions and contradictions about feminism than answers, it gives voice to the raw experiences of womanhood.