Dowry

The dowry presented here is tangible – an objectified. It manifests itself in typical feminine objects, the kinds women brought with them into the process of matchmaking and marriage. Marriage, an event that is ceremonious as well as continuously disciplinary, is a cultural landmark where female identity is shaped and concepts of femininity are embodied for generations. However, as much as the tangible dowry is an expression of womanly obedience to the feminine pattern women were subject to, the symbolic  meaning of dowry objects can be seen as an expansion of the female identity – an expression of wishes and desires that do not
conform to the disciplinary regime.

The dowry presented here is tangible – an objectified. It manifests itself in typical feminine objects, the kinds women brought with them into the process of matchmaking and marriage. Marriage, an event that is ceremonious as well as continuously disciplinary, is a cultural landmark where female identity is shaped and concepts of femininity are embodied for generations. However, as much as the tangible dowry is an expression of womanly obedience to the feminine pattern women were subject to, the symbolic  meaning of dowry objects can be seen as an expansion of the female identity – an expression of wishes and desires that do not conform to the disciplinary regime.

The present exhibition seeks to be such a “dowry realm” where female artists from different ethnic backgrounds present their work, that personal experience containing a unique genetic code. Participating artists often create a dialogue between past and present, individual identity and cultural identity, and continue to seek, as in every generation, the freedom within belonging.