The Garments of the Memory

PROJECT: THE GARMENTS OF THE MEMORY

NISA GOIBURU

INDEX

1.- INTRODUCTION
2.- DEVELOPMENT OF THE PROJECT “THE GARMENTS OF THE MEMORY”

Introduction:  From difference to equality
Purposes of the project
Target audience
Innovative project

3.- EXHIBITION BY NISA GOIBURU
4.- PERFORMANCE
5.- CONFERENCES
6.- AUDIO-VISUAL PROJECT
7.- CURRICULUM VITAE

 

1.- INTRODUCTION. THE GARMENTS OF THE MEMORY

IN SEARCH OF THE CREATIVE FEMININITY OF MOTHER NATURE

At this moment, we find ourselves living in a globalised world where myriad means of communication have provided access to knowledge of other civilisations, their different cultures and the art of those cultures through the years.

We move through an infinity of information where it is difficult for us to set the parameters of our ideals and our beliefs, where it is difficult to choose images that will remain in our mind and even more difficult for them to leave their mark in our “heart”: a heart subjected, by the endless layers which protect it, to an uncertainty from which we now need to escape. We want to recall from our memory all the difficulties women have had to face, to bring them back from “the feminine side”, to integrate them into the present world’s new configuration.

It is this “heart” which has motivated woman, woman the creator of life; this “heart” has been the engine propelling us through the ages; we act through the “golden heart”, giver of love, giving life as mothers, not thinking of ourselves; or through the “red heart” where the world of emotions whirls us between the abyss, our goals and the fulfilment of our loftiest dreams.

The aim of this project is to draw from the memory that which we identify with Mother Nature: “the Earth”, which in its femininitywe identify with the essence of our own selves, the essence of the feminine, the creator, an identity which has been the same in every culture and for all peoples throughout time; all in praise of the attributes of the feminine, always associated with and ruled by just one word “BEAUTY”.

 

2.- DEVELOPMENT OF THE PROJECT. “FROM DIFFERENCE TO EQUALITY” A PSYCHO-SOCIAL-ANTHROPOLOGICAL STUDY OF WOMEN

– – – – – – – – – – – THE GARMENTS OF THE MEMORY – – – – – – – – – – – 

2.1. INTRODUCTION:  FROM DIFFERENCE TO EQUALITY

A journey through time, where the starting point is fundamental if we are to follow the events in which we have been immersed throughout history: the history of men and the history of women. Based on anthropological studies, it seems that the lives of both genders have developed in dissonance, where some have been dominant while others have been dominated: two parallel and divergent worlds, where one of the genders holds a position of dominance without conducting a deep study of the human doubts and questions regarding equalopportunities forhuman beings, individuals with a soul, reasoning skills and intelligence that all of us have, where understanding is only reached from the position given by our gender.

Alongside the freedom for which women are fighting so hard nowadays, in contrast to the individualistic and dominant freedom of men, there has always been, throughouthistory, another kind of freedom, the so called “female freedom”, a rational freedom women enjoy in a relationship of trust with another kind of freedom related to bonds, sharing and moderation. Female freedom lays in the world the capacity of the female body. It is agenuinely creative and impelling freedom, different without a doubt from the freedom men experience, which is based on their physical and biological characteristics.

These biological differences and the different kinds of freedom all human beings have enjoyed, thanks to the characteristics of their gender, have, throughout history, resulted in inequalities between men and women when it comes to taking part insociety. This, unfortunately, has hindered the natural progress of society, cutting off the development of half of the human race by making them subordinate to the other.

Nobody benefits from the inequalities between men and women because they make it more difficult for people to develop their capacities and, therefore, they restrain the development of our society.

The triumph of feminism has opened to women many corridors of power that had been previously been a male domain . In order for both men and women to be able to develop as free and independent people, we must share both obligations and rights.

For this reason, we have to enhance the capacity of individualism, respecting the singularities of each gender in order to find the complementarity of both, reasserting that from difference we can reach the original harmony for which we were created.

2.2. PURPOSES OF THE PROJECT

The purpose of the project is to transmit a message of hope for the future with regard to what is commonly known as “battle of the sexes”. The project intends to show that the solutions to the terrible gender disparities created inpast centuries are not to be found either in antagonismor in opposed ideological points of view; on the contrary, they are to be found in the union, in the complementarity of the masculine and the feminine that every human being has inside from the creation of their first cell.

This overall objective is broken done into a series of specific goals:

▪ To show the complementarity between the feminine and the masculine sides as parts of a whole.
▪ To show to society the strength, the ability and the importance of women which, for centuries, have been hidden
▪ To act as a catalytic message in order for women and men to start forgetting about their fears and concerns
▪ To helpsociety and everybody who attends the exhibition to raise their self-esteem and to love themselves because all the fears and concerns which are at the base and the root of all the problems with exclusion, social dominance, discrimination, etc. will disappear if we love ourselves. Respect, acceptance, integration and equality will emerge from love.
▪ To underline what brings human beings together, regardless of our gender (or race, or age): love, the heart inside each human being.

2.3. TARGET AUDIENCE

Although at first sight women would seem to be the natural audience for this project, it is also true that, bearing in mind the idea of complementarity and unity which it aims to share, men are also very present in the works, which means that the male audience will also find themselves represented there.

It should also be pointed out that the project will catch the attention of children because of the colourful works, for one thing, and also because boys and girls have an innate tendency (and it is an easy and reassuring exercise for them) to find the heart and the mother in everything they look at.

2.4. INNOVATIVE PROJECT

Although nowadays gender equality/inequality is a much talked about topic, it has to be emphasised that “The Garments of the Memory” is a project which tackles the problemfrom an original point of view and with a purpose which is different and innovative.The project does not intend to highlight the differences and discrimination that for centuries have served to relegate women to second place in society; nor does it wish to focus attention on speaking out against the injustices created by gender inequalities insociety; this project rather intends to emphasise the strength and worth of women, which for years have remained hidden (and which even many women have managed to forget) and to makesociety aware that the solution is not to underline the existing inequalities but to look for the unity and complementarity of both genders in the search forsomething complete. The message of hope which this project brings and the solutions which it shares are based on harmony, on the heart which every human being carries within, and on the search for love which characterises all of us, and will undoubtedly bring a new point of view to the problems which have arisen from gender disparity.

The exhibition itself is composed of a series of works of art which seek to question, directly, each of the visitors andthrough the variety of the differentgoddesses represented it is hoped that each person will see themselves reflected in one or more of the pieces.

In addition, the exhibition “The Garments of the Memory” is complemented by aseries of conferences that will deal with this same subject and will try to transmit the message of UNITY.

 

3.- EXHIBITION BY NISA GOIBURU

PAINTING

INSTALATION ART

SCULPTURE ON CANVAS

Oil on canvas work’s characteristics
mixed technique, marble dust, textiles, gold leaf, tulle, etc.
Measures: 80 x 40, 100 x 81, 116×89, 1
Work on Paper
“The Goddesses”
Mixed technique, marble dust, textiles, gold leaf, tulle, etc.
Measures: 80 x 74 cm.
Sculpture on canvas

 

4.- THE GARMENTS OF THE MEMORY

PERFORMANCE :
Contemporaneous soprano: Esperanza Abad

Accordion: Joxan Goikoetxea
Dancers: 2

A chicken wire mesh covers one of the walls. Some suits shaped like people hang from it. The suits still hang from the ceiling with spotlights illuminating some of them. A heap of clothes lies in the centre of the hall.

During the performance, the soprano will sing and recite standing on a forklift (if that is not possible, on scaffolding).

The instrument player will stand on a platform at a certain distance.
The dancers will be inside the heap of clothes located at the centre of the hall. When hearing the soprano’s voice, the dancers’ hands will start to emerge and with slight movements they will be able to get out dressed only in their underwear (a mesh bodysuit).

The music will start playing.

The dancers will rummage through the garments in order to choose one and wear it. In a background of singing, recitation, musical instrument, the dancers will dance, will run through the hall, evoking memories of the garment they are wearing. Then they will climb onto the forklift to choose one of the garments hanging from the wall, will take off the one they are wearing and will put on another one. Recitation and music evoking the garment memories.

The dancers come back to the heap located in the centre of the hall, putting on the garments one upon the others. Meanwhile, the music and the singing will become louder and louder until they reach a dramatic crescendo. The dancers fall down onto the ground tired of supporting the burden of such an intense recollection of memories. The music stops and there istotal silence.

Down on the ground, without standing up, looking at and watching each other they will start taking off slowly all the clothes they are wearing, some of them being helped by their partner (at this moment the lights will be turned off almost completely and the hall will remain dimly lit), the dancers will choose the last garment and will put on white gowns.The sound of music and of a soft voice with high tones will recall the birth of a new life.

The soprano, the instrument player and the dancers are walking along slowly until they come together. The performance ends.

NB Depending on the hall, “the garments of the memory” paintings will be projected on one of the walls.

 

5.- CONFERENCES

THE GARMENTS OF THE MEMORY seen by:

Philosopher
Anthropologist
Neurologist
Poet
Psychologist

 

6.- AUDIO VISUAL PROJECT

THE GARMENTS OF THE MEMORY

This is an audio-visual project based on the post-feminism concept that focuses the efforts in search of equality, taking as a starting point the natural inequalities between men and women. The short film is a journey through the female identity, trying to question and to find out in the historical memory the own womanhood, the captivating essence every woman keeps in her heart.
PURPOSE:

It is essential to get to know women and to find out where their insecurities, burdens and gender effects come from in order to start actually the long itinerary of equality. In this sense, the present project will show up the femininity along the different pilgrimages women have suffered anywhere in our world. Regardless of labels, race, social status or age, women must dive together so as to find the meaning of that universal womanhood that will free them from all the ties and will allow them to run in their struggle for freedom.
SYNOPSIS:

Five scenes make up five entwined stories of women who suffer in their personal lives the burdens of the system injustices: male domination, the pain for the loss of a child, urban colonisation, and so on. A walk along the beach will connect them with their innermost, will open their eyes and will teach them the way towards their hearts and needs