VOLUME/Lakeland Women’s Collective present “MEDUSA MOON: Violations of the Divine Feminine” Art Show. This show theme deals specifically with violations aimed at womxn and the struggles exclusive to femininity (including gender, religion, culture, politics, wage, familial roles, shaming, identity, sex, orientation, violence, and so on). The purpose of this show is to illustrate the distinct adversity womxn face due to gender and create awareness surrounding this issue.

 

Our “patron saint” for this show is the Greek gorgon, Medusa. According to Greek mythology, Medusa is portrayed as beautiful until she was raped by the Greek god Poseidon within the Temple of Athena. This act enraged Athena with jealousy, and as a punishment to the victim, she turned Medusa’s hair to snakes and made her face “so terrible to behold that the mere sight of it would turn onlookers to stone.” According to the poet Ovid, Perseus describes Medusa’s punishment as “just and well-earned”.

 

This story is a classic example of victim-blaming and furthers the “womxn VS womxn” myth. Medusa was considered attractive until after the rape, blamed for the act committed against her will, and then punished out of misplaced jealousy by another womxn. For this reason, we want to flip the script of this legend and put Medusa on a pedestal – we want to acknowledge the acts committed against her for what they were; vile and unjust. We believe she is the ultimate avenger for these acts committed specifically against womxn and that she deserves a new title in the myth; patron saint of survivors.