No Woman Is An Island, various sizes, oil paint drawings, 8 March 2020

No Woman Is An Island, 180x100cm, oil on paper, 2020




Nike, 180x100cm, oil on paper, 2020



Dione and Aphrodite, 180x100cm per paper (5 papers total), oil on paper, 2020



Demeter and Persephone, 180x200cm, oil on paper, 2020



Exhibition view International Women's Day 8 March 2020, Palais du Midi, Brussels



Aphrodite, approximately 200x150cm, oil on silk, 2020



Hestia, approximately 200x150cm, oil on silk, 2020


© Monica MontĂ©



These works are created for International Women's Day 8 March 2020, with the specific location in mind of the South Palace / Palais du Midi in Brussels. During the all day concours of different sports, all played by women sport teams, these drawings on white silk shared a backdrop of European, Belgian and Brussels flags. The drawings on paper filled a long arcaded gallery looking down on the playing field. From the ground one could see the goddesses in strong poses showing feminine curves and elegant robes. The event was organised by the LGBTQ+ and lesbian community building organisation Match Belgium.

Edit - January 1st 2021:  the title 'No Woman is an Island' is a reference to John Donne's poem from 1624, changed because it is about being a lesbian. The word 'lesbian' comes from the Greek island Lesbos, hence the reference: a woman can be a lesbian, it doesn't mean she is an island. Tove Jansson and Tuulikki Pietilä built a house on a tiny uninhabited island in the gulf of Finland, and Agnes Martin lived in isolation in New Mexico, an island of a different kind. These women inspire and fascinate me, and the title is an ode to being a lesbian.