MICAELA ORTEGA
Ovaries and Rosaries
Methodology
In this work, I used a combination of three media: painting, embroidery, and installation. The work consists of a 60x90cm painting, painted in oil with embroidered details and installed in the form of an altar. The altar is composed of a shelf anchored to the wall, which holds the painting, and a decorative frame on top. Surrounding the base of the painting, I placed a series of objects as offerings. Among these objects is a framed photo of my great-grandmother, along with a green and purple handkerchief. In addition to the above, the altar is surrounded by candles and live and dried flowers with the intention of imitating a traditional religious altar. Among the flowers, I chose roses, lilies, and carnations since they are flowers that are culturally associated with purity, innocence, femininity, and motherhood.
Why the Hood?
The hood has become a key symbol of resistance in social movements, representing a unified front under a common iconography that simultaneously conceals the identity of its participants. Considering we live in such a hyper-surveilled society, anonymity has become indispensable for the success of these movements, as without it, their members would be much more vulnerable to harassment and state repression. Colombia is a country with alarmingly high rates of police repression. The murder and disappearance of social leaders have become commonplace. In 2021, the Office of the Ombudsman recorded 145 murders of social leaders and human rights defenders. Additionally, according to the NGO Temblores, within the framework of the 2021 national strike, 5048 acts of violence were registered at the hands of members of the public force. Among these incidents were 80 homicides, 47 cases of sexual violence, and 1991 cases of physical violence. It has become evident that the main purpose of the ESMAD is to attack and silence protesters through physical violence. It is due to this violent oppression that many protesters in Colombia have adopted the hood to protect themselves. A recognizable example of the use of these hoods as a form of resistance is the 1994 Chiapas rebellion, in which the guerrilla group EZLN (Zapatista Army of National Liberation) took over the Mexican state of Chiapas in the name of indigenous rights and against the globalization of capitalism. As Professor Genoveva Flores expresses,
"Anonymity is an element that must accompany this type of discourse because, in their nature, secrecy is inherent. Rebellions gestate surreptitiously, hiding from the dominant elites, even though in public life, the oppressed continue to act with submission to the political system. (...) And due to that strong continued oppression, anonymity was an indispensable element in the flourishing of the EZLN and its subsequent actions after the outbreak of the rebellion." (2008)
Feminist hoods, with their colorful patterns and decorative embroidery, draw inspiration from these precedents and transform them into something new. They are not simple, single-colored hoods; each one is unique and representative of the woman who wears it. The hood is no longer merely utilitarian; it is a political statement and a work of art that captures the attention of the viewer and refuses to be ignored. The following quote is a fragment from Eduardo Galeano's poem "Chronicle of the City of Bogotá" about Patricia Ariza.
"She walked the streets of Bogotá wearing a bulletproof vest. There was no other choice, but the vest was sad and ugly. One day, Patricia sewed on a few sequins, and another day, she embroidered colorful flowers, flowers falling like rain over her chest. So, the vest was brightened and adorned by her, and somehow, she got used to wearing it all the time, and she no longer took it off, even on stage."
Why the green and purple handkerchief?
The green handkerchief emerged in 2003 at the Women's Meeting in Argentina, where the Campaign for Legal, Safe, and Free Abortion chose green as the representative color for the struggle for Voluntary Interruption of Pregnancy (IVE). The symbol of the handkerchief is inspired by the white handkerchiefs that the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo wore on their heads to protest and demand from the Argentine government information about their sons and daughters who disappeared during the military dictatorship (1976-1983).
"The Mothers and Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo are the strongest symbol of resistance in Argentina. It is also another way to decolonize motherhood. It can be a way to be reborn into political life and to fight for one's own sons and daughters. Furthermore, to fight for a collective, active, embracing motherhood, not possessive or selfish." (Peker, 2022)
In 2018, the green handkerchief became the most emblematic symbol of the Argentine feminist struggle, creating a "green tide" that took to the streets and achieved the approval of the IVE law in 2020. Although this symbol was born in Argentina, it quickly became a symbol of the Latin American fight for free and safe abortion. It was a symbol of the feminist victory in Mexico in 2021, achieving the decriminalization of abortion in the penal code, and again in Colombia in February of this year. The purple handkerchief has also been used as a feminist symbol for decades, commemorating International Women's Day (March 8) and the global feminist struggle. The color was first used in 1908 by English suffragettes as a symbol of "the blood of every fighter for the right to vote, their consciousness of freedom and dignity." (Ochoa, 2022). However, the best-known origin of this symbol was the tragic fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist factory in New York after a strike led by the factory's female workers seeking equal wages between men and women, along with better working conditions. The fire resulted in the death of 123 women and 23 men, producing purple smoke from the dyes used in garment production. It is because of this smoke that purple became the feminist symbol we use today. Likewise, these handkerchiefs have been the center of much controversy, leading to the creation of a light blue handkerchief in response from pro-life groups.