Activating the Apparatus Volume 2, above all else, is an exhibition put on by Self Identifying Women to illuminate unseen perspectives in Atlanta’s art scene and to celebrate the multifaceted women residing in the southeast, and embolden participating artists. The Strange~Ladies dismiss the male domination that runs rampant in the art world; show after show featuring man after man, with a handful of women thrown in as decoration to satisfy the times. This exhibition seeks to reclaim what should be equally afforded to us but on our own terms and without the bandwagon. This exhibition is about self identifying women and their reflections on their own experiences as a “woman” in the south. Genderqueer, transgender, and cisgender women of all orientations are asked to define womanhood in their own terms…
Women carry muskets in the mangroves and their bones tote pink pistols. In this world, the pink claw is a must. Steely forces yank and bite, peel back flesh to gaze at glossy insides. Female faces become sorrowful TV dinners, gouged at and drooled upon. A woman baptizes herself in the milk of a sister mammal. Her neck sags, her eyes drift apart and deaden - she slips into a blazer, red as steak. From the cave, a cyclops watches on and a t-rex screams, then there is exhilaration. Women seduce each other in blue birch seclusion, commemorated on a satin flag with a tent of future past left for our safety to reside. Flowering planets populate the heavens. The shining images of great women are forever etched in precious metal. Masked women stretch, enlivening the air with magical shapes. Unmasked women relish their hair, their bodies, and their skin – haloed by the sun while unicorns share rainbows. Merged eyes, merged minds, merged hearts. Grow horns. Grow wings. Enlightened eyes cry because women are full of light. Women are the Apparatus. Space and Time for the activation!
Alea Hurst Mcdonough, GA Alex Kraft Dahlonega, GA Alexandra Hemrick Dunwoody, GA Alexandra Lavender Auburn, AL Ali O’Leary Atlanta, GA Allison Garrett Carrollton, GA Annie Campbell Opelika, AL April Marten Knoxville, TN April Webb Tallahassee, FL Ariya Martin New Orleans, LA Betsy Lester St Petersburg, FL Britt Mcdermont Nashville, TN Carol Santos Sandy Springs, GA Carrington Ware Aragon, GA Clyde Conwell Athens, GA Colleen A. Critcher Florence, SC Colleen Itani Tallahassee, FL Elise Thompson Tallahassee, FL Elizabeth McFalls Columbus, GA Emily Stroud Birmingham, AL Erin Clark Atlanta, GA Hannah Burton Atlanta, GA Hannah Hendricks Marietta, GA Heather Foster Gainesville, GA Heather Muise Greenville, NC Jennifer Cantley Atlanta, GA Jennifer Niswonger Athens, GA Jessica Burke Charlotte, NC Jessica Locklar Stone MT, GA Jordan Kady Panama City, FL Julie Fordham Tucker, GA Kacee Friedman Atlanta, GA Kaleena Stasiak Mobile, AL Kasey Grace Tallahassee, FL Kathy Rodriguez New Orleans, LA Kelly Hendrickson Tallahassee, FL Kim Truesdale Athens, GA Lauren Evans Birmingham, AL Lauren Woods Opelika, AL Lindsay Parker Athens, GA Lori Loveberry Sarasota, FL Madison Holt Richmond, VA Mana Hewitt Columbia, SC Merrilee Challiss Birmingham, AL Natalie Childers Decatur, GA Rebecca Taylor Panama City, FL Sarah Loftus Atlanta, GA Sodam Lee Itta Bena, MS Tessa Click Washington, DC Vivian Liddell Athens, GA
