Digging up the mythology surrounding women's ‘natural' expiry date

Daily Maverick

2 days ago

We talk to Josie Grindrod, one of the creators of a new exhibition of artworks probing the imagery that defines the feminine ideal of a young woman in her prime.
Fecund is not a conventional exhibition. Visitors will enter it via a 'uterus' curtain and be presented with an installation of works, from paintings, works on paper, pottery, textile works and other sorts of detritus generated via a dialogue among its impassioned creators, Josie Grindrod, Clare van Zyl and Jann Cheifitz.
The sheer volume of artworks, which evoke historical representations of women, is intended to underscore the trio's 'fecundity', despite their age.
In their early sixties and with substantial careers in various creative sectors behind them – Grindrod ran a craft and product development business, Van Zyl heads a film production company and Cheifitz a textiles business in the US – the trio are unwilling to believe that their best years are over.
In undoing this culture, the artworks probe the imagery that defines the feminine ideal of a young woman in her prime.
Prior to the opening on July 9 at the Everard Read Cape Town gallery, Mary Corrigall, art commentator and researcher, posed a few questions to Grindrod in her Woodstock Studio.
Mary Corrigall: What sparked your interest in the themes of the feminine and mythology in your art?
Josie Grindrod: I've had a longstanding fascination with what's been historically called the feminine, though I'm also aware of how loaded that term can be.
My interests are shaped by post-Jungian thought, where scholars look at images of the feminine from ancient times, such as the goddess in Anatolian and Greek cultures, all the way through Western art history. In our group, we looked a lot at mythology.
We probably started with the image of Adam and Eve, which I've always found compelling. I went to a Church of England school, so I was deeply immersed in Christian iconography. That image – of Adam and Eve being cast out of Eden – has always haunted me. Over time, I also became interested in darker versions of the Eve myth, like Lilith, and the image of the snake, which holds so much symbolic weight, especially in ideas about feminine energy in Eastern philosophies.
MC: How did the title 'Fecund' come about, and what does it mean to you?
JG: 'Fecund' became central quite early on, though at one point we almost dropped it and thought of using 'Garden of Earthly Delight' as a subtitle.
I love that the word 'fecund' evokes women's reproductive biology – there's a kind of richness, a sense of fertility, and even a bit of sauciness to it. I like the way that playfully subverts things.
But it's also deeply about something being richly reproductive – not just in the biological sense of bearing children, but in plants bearing fruit or ideas being born in the mind.
For me, 'fecund' means something endlessly regenerative and generative. That's what I love about the title – it applies to creativity, nature and thought.
MC: Why do gardens and the act of gardening hold such symbolic importance in your work?
JG: Gardens are woven through my thinking about the feminine.
Historically, there's always been this link between women and flowers, and you see it in so much of Western art. But for me, it goes deeper. I think of gardening as part of home-making, traditionally a domestic activity, but also as something much more fundamental.
Until we find a way to value the feminine principle – which is about care, interconnection and regeneration – we're stuck in a world shaped by a technological, masculine mindset that's led to a lot of our current crises.
Gardening becomes a metaphor for restoring balance, for growth and rejuvenation, and for rethinking our relationship to both nature and the feminine.
MC: What has the collaborative process been like with Jann (Cheifitz) and Clare (van Zyl) for this exhibition?
JG: It's been quite special and also a little challenging! When you work on a group show with a clear theme, there's always the risk of just illustrating an idea, rather than following your intuition and letting the meaning emerge.
But what's been unique here is that all of us are at a certain stage in our careers, and there's a sense of mutual respect and support.
There's also a feeling that we're arriving at this moment together – where our years of practice, experimentation and personal growth are coming together. The collaborative energy has really pushed me to see new connections between my work and theirs. DM