LTFR | Process as Protest Art

#Abortion #Activism

J. Genevieve

Artist/Intuitive Photographer based in Salado, Texas

I AM ANGRY

... for so many reasons. This body of work expressed on 13 historic Texas vegetation maps surfaced as an altar, an offering and a place for my Rage. I'm talking the the deep, raw, primal kind of Rage that burns white hot and is one of the most sacred yet feared forces of the feminine spirit. When released through expression, she burns through to the heart of it all, clearing and mapping out a path for a better way. No wonder she's been silenced, demonized and ritually suppressed whenever she surfaces throughout history and still to this day. We need more, not less, of this force in our personal worlds, throughout Texas where I currently live and create, and across the globe.

Perhaps this is a place for your Rage too?

Or maybe it will prove to be a place to listen through your discomfort. Either and any way it goes, I'm glad you're here viewing this work. It's no accident. We need you, all of you, present, alive, feeling and aware. 

All the best and all the love.

97°37'5"N, 34°00'0"W

96°30'0"N, 33°45'0"E

96°52'5"S, 32°22'5"E

98°7'5"S, 32°37'5"W

(Ft.Worth/Dallas)

BODIES ARE NOT PROPERTY OR POLITICAL PLAYGROUNDS

97°7'5"N, 31°00'0"W

95°52'5"N, 30°45'0"E

96°15'0"S, 29°30'0"E

97°30'0"S, 29°45'0"W

(Bryan)

RESPECT AND RECIPROCITY ARE BASIC RIGHTS

97°30'0"N, 25°37'5"W

96°15'0"N, 29°22'5"E

96°37'5"S, 28°00'0"E

97°52'5"S, 28°15'0"W

(Victoria)

LISTEN TO FEMININE RAGE

95°45'0"N, 31°00'0"W

94°22'5"N, 30°45'0"E

94°52'5"S, 28°30'0"E

96°7'5"S, 29°45'0"W

(Houston)

IDENTITY IS SACRED

96°07'5"N, 29°37'5"W

95°15'0"N, 29°00'0"E

96°37'5"S, 28°15'0"W

(Freeport)

CHOICE IS FREEDOM

100°22'5"N, 29°37'5"W

99°7'5"N, 29°22'5"E

99°30'0"S, 28°7'5"E

100°15'0"S, 28°15'0"W

(Eagle Pass)

THIRD EYE - REVERSED

(see from a new perspective)

99°30'0"N, 32°30'0"W

98°15'0"N, 32°15'0"E

98°45'0"S, 31°00'0"E

100°00'0"S, 31°15'0"W

(Brownwood)

OWNERSHIP IS AN ILLUSION

97°52'5"N, 28°7'5"W

96°52'5"N, 28°0'0"E

97°15'0"S, 26°37'5"E

98°15'0"S, 26°52'5"W

(Corpus Christi)

POWER IS TO BE HELD WITHIN NOT LORDED OVER

100°37'5"N, 33°52'5"W

99°22'5"N, 33°37'5"E

99°45'0"S, 32°22'5"E

101°00'0"S, 32°30'0"W

(Snyder)

LABOR>> CONSUMPTION>> EXPLOITATION>> WHO WILL BREAK THE CYCLE?

98°30'0"N, 31°00'0"W

97°15'0"N, 30°45'0"E

97°45'0"S, 29°30'0"E

99°00'0"S, 20°37'5"W

(Austin)

EMPTY WORDS CANNOT BE FILLED WITH WHITE NOISE

98°7'5"N, 32°22'0"W

96°52'5"N, 32°7'5"E

97°15'0"S, 30°52'5"E

98°30'0"S, 31°7'5"W

(Waco)

FACE THE FULL STORY OR REPEAT THE CYCLE

95°15'0"N, 32°22'5"W

94°7'5"N, 32°15'0"E

94°30'0"S, 30°52'5"E

95°37'5"S, 31°15'0"W

(Lufkin)

YOUR LUST FOR CONTROL DOES NOT JUSTIFY DISMISSING, DEMONIZING OR DEHUMANIZING

96°45'0"N, 32°22'5"W

95°30'0"N, 32°15'0"E

95°52'5"S, 30°52'5"E

97°7'5"S, 31°7'5"W

(Corsicana)

WHITE MEN MASK THEIR AGENDA OF CONTROL WITH GOOD THINGS

• PROCESS

• 
  
• With 13 historical Texas vegetation maps, red paint, ripped jeans and a practically bare chest. I laid close to the earth and listened. Picking the maps at random I placed my right hand on the earth, my left hand on a map ready to respond with action and expression, my body a channel between the two. As I felt each message, I wrote with my left hand, which is not my dominant side. It's a common practice in my art to engage the left (feminine) and right (masculine) sides of my body in conversation. It facilitates a balancing of my own energy and often informs how the feminine and masculine should be working in tandem together personally and collectively.
• 
  

At first, the writing with my feminine side was shaky. I resisted the urge to correct it and let it be; let that atrophied feminine side speak and gain strength. With each map, it grew more steady. Sometimes I would pound the surface. One I took a stand on. Some called for water. Others I threw dirt at, screaming with each heave. Some I straight up hissed at. I hesitated with the messages a few times as familiar voices called from the shadows "No, that's too much. Someone will take that too personally. Who do you think you are to say that? What if you got it wrong? This is dangerous, irreverent even - maybe you shouldn't. You're destroying something historical". Even in my hesitation, I persisted. and soon each map held a message, a clear directive from Mother Earth herself on what each area needed to protect, face, alchemize or release from the land.

Once each message had dried, it was time for the right side to work, bringing in the black that would create definition The lines of red were followed perfectly and precisely in the beginning. The flow felt rigid and cold. Slowly though, the lines began to learn to move and follow the red, but in their own way, mimicking the movement yet still offering stability and making it their own. As this dynamic shifted I could sense the balance was occurring within my own body and energy field. It was wild to watch in the moment, and the expression of possibility left me breathless.


Then came the gold. Again with my left hand, I wrote (abstractly) with the gold leaf adhesive "wealth facilitates liberation", declaring a new narrative for the purpose of wealth over the vegetation keys of the maps. My right hand applied the leaf, but it stuck where the left had directed, the excess saved for future pieces.

All 13 originals from this body of work are available to be featured physically or virtually. Please contact the artist for details: info@jgenevieve.com