Included in the show are artworks from two recent bodies of work Secret Ceremony, 2018 and Cardinal Flame, 2019. The work Untitled (Secret Ceremony) was utilized as a jumping off point to expand upon imagery representing personal power, celebration and ritual practices. The symbol of the sun, more specifically, represents a life-giving but destructive force. This came to be the icon of the show as a whole - something triumphant and formidable.
The 2019 diptych draws from the aesthetics of the art history canon, specifically chiaroscuro and classical religious works. The flame disrupts the visual trope and acts as a guiding light to connect the images through time. “Divine Witness” and “Cardinal Flame” through their depiction of transcendent spiritual states recall a time when women were commonly depicted as virtuous beings full of spiritual ecstasy. We reach “Scorched Earth” where these ideas go up in flames. Our archetypal woman stares into the lense; we sense she has reclaimed her mental and physical autonomy. She acts as a symbol, a kind of deity to her own personal power.
Kate Rampling is an Auckland based photographic artist. Her work is informed by the female experience; specifically, the gaze, spiritual and ritualistic practices throughout history and the exploration of one’s inner world.
She was motivated to create a group show after noticing a movement of artists utilizing traditional ‘women’s work’ mediums and working within psychic, occult and mythological themes. She hopes to generate a sense of community and understanding by starting a conversation about what it means to be a feminist and a female artist in our current social climate, albeit in a primal and instinctive way.