Healing From Shadows

Healing From Shadows – “Some say that an important role of art lies in its relationship to the invisible because it reveals it: creation allows for the commonly imperceptible to be seen, analysed. Most particularly, this link uncovers what some may not know or experience. This concept applies to “Healing From Shadows”, highlighting details in Lauren Januhowski’s textile works. Here, through the mastery of printing artist Cha Gautier, Januhowski reveals what is hidden in the contemporary patriarchal structure and what, incidentally, also happens to support it. Thus, they succeed in telling an experience that is unique to womxn by making it relatable and obvious.

This invisible, taking the form of grey figures and forms, is the imperceptible pressures, injunctions and the weight that comes with the experience of womxnhood. The present collection of details, created by the artist in collaboration with Gautier, concentrates on the significance of reversals in power dynamics: it presents the invisible, previously perceived as a potential threat, as a source of strength. This process neither unfolds through submission nor compliance, but by way of simply accepting opposition. The empowering effect, as well as healing possibilities, in the confrontative relationship are illustrated here in their book. It is a true poem dedicated to self- and community – emancipation. ” Helena Schümmer-von Bothmer