Curator Kitty Clark envisioned 'The Modern Muse' at Saint Cloche to honour women's historic accomplishments during International Women’s Week 2024. In 2023, as reported by Forbes, women achieved groundbreaking milestones across diverse fields from Nobel prize winners to astronauts, indicating continual progress toward gender equality and shattering longstanding barriers in roles traditionally dominated by men.
The shift from patriarchy to matriarchy brings potential for peaceful, economically balanced societies with equal relationships. Despite the need for healing after years of suppression, the misconception about self-care must be addressed to empower matriarchs and contribute to global healing.
Our culture has taught us to assume the normal human condition is one of vanity and exaggerated self-regard. But for many of the us the opposite is true: we suffer from an excessively self-critical vision of who we might be; we are achingly alive to our defects and to all that others could perceive as wrong with our characters.
Cindy Kavanagh, founder of Sydney’s 'The Modern Muse', celebrates reaching ‘level 50’ by photographing 50 women on the cusp of or recently turned 50. Creating unique portraits and stories of women viewed through the lens of feminine archetypes.
Gwyneth Paltrow says 50 needs a ‘rebrand’, and in essence that is what this project has become.
We can fade from view as we age, sometimes to the point of invisibility. Sometimes it is an attitude all around that still struggles to acknowledge a woman of wisdom. It is a rebellious act to honour oneself in this way. We women have looked at ourselves far too long through the eyes of the harsh critic.
A captivating portrait captures the rich tapestry of human experiences, emotions, and perspectives. It tells a story that lingers long after the shutter has closed.
