Cristina Biaggi

This is the first of a series of Crucifixions created in the form of a triptych, which was a way of depicting religious art in the Middle Ages. These works reflect woman’s plight all over the world – her inequality which, in some instances is like a crucifixion, her second classness, her low position. The women on the wings of the crucifixion look on with concentrated empathy at the woman on the cross.

The proposed structure is inspired by Maltese and Scottish temples and tombs from the Neolithic period, which the artist studied for her doctoral dissertation, Megalithic Sculptures that Symbolize the Great Goddess. The form, location, internal spatial arrangements, associated finds, inscriptions, and sheer number of Maltese and Scottish structures suggests strong religious beliefs centered on a deity of death and fertility. Megalithic monuments from the Neolithic period abound throughout Western Europe. Many are tombs covered with a mound or cairn and some have decorated interior spaces. These structures were used as tombs over generations. Rituals were enacted outside in front of the structures. I believe the creation of such a structure is very important now in this era of growing attention to woman’s place in history. Scholars in all fields are doing research from a feminist perspective and making valuable discoveries about the heretofore-overlooked contributions of women throughout history. They are looking at old data from various disciplines and arriving at enlightened new conclusions, expanding our consciousness about what is valuable and precious in human endeavor.

The Web is an ancient archetypal symbol derived from animal art, which in its latest manifestation, has come to symbolize the contemporary wave of the Women’s Movement. From the Women’s Pentagon Actions of the seventies to Greenham Common and Seneca Falls during the eighties, the Web has been woven as a reminder of our interconnection with all living things and of the need for peace.
The installation, which has been created in many venues using natural and existing surroundings, is made from different thicknesses of red-hued ropes measuring one mile in length. The ropes are woven and knotted together at intervals in both the vertical and horizontal planes. The purely arbitrary occurrence of knots is intended to express the randomness and yet connectedness of life and experience. Scattered within the web and suspended from it are a number of painted spheres made of papier mâché and decorated with cosmic designs. The spheres can be taken to express our world as one among many in the cosmos; the different hues of red as differentiation within unity.

This collage contains photographs of women’s faces taken at the Fourth World Conference of Women in Beijing, China in 1995. The world (the sphere) consists of 52% women, most of whom have not participated in the decisions involving our planet since the advent of patriarchy. This piece attempts to capture the feeling of wholeness, of connectedness, of vitality, of transformation, of extreme emotion - from joy to outrage - that was being experienced daily at the conference, and that will provide the basic nourishment that is needed for global change.

The Medusa is one of the artist’s favorite sculpture motifs. “She has fascinated me because she is not afraid, she doesn’t look back, she hits the nail on the head, her eyes see through all falsehood. She is the mistress of life and death.”

This piece represents the fury of women duped and enslaved by patriarchy and the deepest anger toward the Earth Herself at being cataclysmically devastated. Medusa is the scream of women’s outrage in the night. She is the rage and indignation of the inequities of life. She represents the fertile anger, the blue hot light of wrath that will blow up and shatter everything in its path. Out of the shattered remains of the old, the new world will emerge full of promise and hope. Medusa is an image of transformation.

Breaking the Glass Ceiling reflects the huge importance of Hillary Clinton’s bid for the 2008 Democratic nomination for the presidency especially for women all over the world. In the center of the piece Hillary is depicted as a gathering force of women who have made a difference in history.

The Web is a double-sided collage on cloth panels that is 45 feet in diameter, depicting women’s political actions throughout the ages and throughout the world. In the center is the Great Goddess. The various panels are connected with red ropes (our collective sacred blood) and the whole piece was originally hung from trees so that the wind could move the panels back and forth and create a subtle wave of movement.