Between Land and a Raised Foot: Thania Petersen Stands Her Ground.
A close connection between the earth and our feet can be deeply spiritual, powerfully transformational, and potentially subversive. In 2017, I developed the phrase, "between land and a raised foot" that explores the transitional space between a poised foot and the earth beneath it. I draw from the p...
| Publicado en: | Art Journal Vol. 84; no. 1; pp. 74 - 101 |
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| Formato: | Artículo |
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Taylor & Francis Ltd
Spring2025
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| Acceso en línea: | Ver este registro en EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=hlh&AN=185154086&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: hlh uiTerm: 185154086 longDbName: Humanities International Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 00043249 ARJ jtl: Art Journal issn: 00043249 maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: Spring2025 vid: 84 iid: 1 pid: 377 pub: Taylor & Francis Ltd artinfo: ui: 185154086 10.1080/00043249.2025.2485848 ppf: 74 ppct: 27 formats: fmt: – @attributes: type: T – @attributes: type: P size: 7MB tig: atl: Between Land and a Raised Foot: Thania Petersen Stands Her Ground. aug: au: Simbao, Ruth su: Sacred space Public demonstrations Healing Conservatism Psychoanalysis sug: subj: Sacred space Public demonstrations Healing Conservatism Psychoanalysis ab: A close connection between the earth and our feet can be deeply spiritual, powerfully transformational, and potentially subversive. In 2017, I developed the phrase, "between land and a raised foot" that explores the transitional space between a poised foot and the earth beneath it. I draw from the psychoanalytic notion of potential space, Buddhist practices of walking meditation, and African practices of associating land with ancestral spirits. In psychoanalysis, potential space is painful, yet creative and generative. More broadly, this space between land and a raised foot opens up possibilities of resistance and healing. Focusing on the work of contemporary artist Thania Petersen, I situate this phrase in the context of South Africa, where a raised foot is sometimes associated with the gesture of a raised fist, and where land remains contentious. Petersen's artwork grapples with the history of displacement of Cape Muslim (also known as Cape Creole) people in Cape Town, who were formerly labelled "Cape Malay." Through various satirical strategies that involve standing, sitting, lying, or walking on land, she challenges the colonial "Cape Malay" trope of docile people. Often employing her own body, Petersen registers resistance and deliberately performs disobedient acts. She walks the "wrong" way, steps over graves, alludes to protest marches, and defiantly occupies space with her bodily presence. Challenging global attempts to control sacred sites through tourism as well as right-wing conservatism and dogma, Petersen ignites protest. It is through this anger that she is able to develop processes of mourning and healing with the land. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: Y custom: Copyright of Art Journal is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. item: Art Journal holder: Taylor & Francis Ltd dt: @attributes: year: 2025 holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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