Ancient Retrievals

Various components make up this project: woodblock prints on paper (named Pinups); painted routered wood; performance pieces; and a painted and sewn inflatable (collaboration called Big Rock of Ages done by Eisert Hall and Evelyn Roth). The inspiration for this project was based on a longing to find a culture from the past that had a different attitude regarding gender definitions. Eisert Hall looked for what it must have been like in a past culture she discovered through Marija Gimbutas's archaeological research. Gimbutus showed that Old European gynocentric cultures were overtaken by a Bronze Age Indo-European androcentric culture. In other words, Eisert Hall imagined a culture in which women were revered as spiritual leaders. She recognised the absence of warfare in this gynocentric culture that was discovered by Gimbutas and consequently the link between patriarchy and war. By exploring the details of Gimbutas's discoveries, such as the absence of war and the presence of nature as seen in artifacts, Eisert Hall went on a creative journey into this cultural landscape.