The Art Diary February 2024
Revd Jonathan Evens, Artlyst
February 2024

Monica Sjöö also features in ‘Women in Revolt!’ and has a retrospective at Modern Art Oxford. An exhibition at Alison Jacques reveals the artist’s sources of inspiration, including pre-Aztec and monumental Aztec sculptures, Catholic art and the vibrant revolutionary paintings by artists including Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo. The consistency and range of her concerns regarding feminism and spiritualism are indicated by the titles of her work in the exhibition – including ‘Women Becoming’, ‘Child of the Mother-tree’ and ‘Priestess at Tarxien Temple on Malta’. Some of the work in the exhibition references Sjöö’s years spent travelling to ancient sites in Malta, Sweden, Wales and to Neolithic centres of the ancient Great Mother, pilgrimages to the sacred land in England, Ireland, Scotland and Brittany, “communing with the spirits and connecting with other women… involved in Earth Mysteries”. Sjöö explained that her chosen landscapes are “full of spirits and the haunt of the powerful and most ancient…” She communicated often with what she called “the ancient sisterhood” of pre-patriarchal Goddess societies and portrayed women as strong and life-giving. […]