New Mythologies Street Art by Tiana Traffas

I create images in the form of paste-up drawings installed in my neighborhood depicting imagery drawn from dreams, symbolism, ancient neolithic goddess cultures, ritual, ancestral myths, and motherhood. These are a series of wheatpaste drawings where myths come to life and women are depicted as healers, magic weavers, and goddesses. It is in the street where women often feel unsafe- where catcalls and misogynistic advertising hang in the air. Long ago, in the ancient matriarchal Neolithic goddess cultures, depictions of sacred women, women who held powerful roles, and great goddesses were painted or carved onto buildings, holy sites, and an integral part of the mundane every day. My street art project momentarily disrupts the viewer's normal landscape where they are met with images of herbs, animal familiars, symbols, and the magic of blood, life-giving birth, and personal power. This work is important to me and I spend time with the imagery, weaving together personal talismans and collective symbolism to spiritualize the piece and engage in meditative labor. Once they are pasted up, they are no longer mine. They are at the mercy of location and weather. Human interaction plays a large role in the art's life; torn off, written over, photographed, and posted on social media, it is ephemeral, fleeting, forgotten...much like the empowered imagery of the ancients.

See more at:
tianatraffasart.bigcartel.com

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