Blood Sisters

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Background: Blood Sisters forms part of my ongoing investigations into historical and contemporary figurations of the female lycanthrope through the printmaking medium, specifically reduction linocut. Imagery is drawn Blood Sisters the Ginger Snaps film trilogy (2000 - 2002), in which werewolfism is employed as a metaphor for coming of age and the transgressive feminine. A key motif in the first film is female menstruation and its parallels with the werewolf's lunar cycle, a recent development in werewolf iconography notable for its feminisation of the motif. Blood Sisters sits within not only expanded notions of female lycanthropy, but also within broader technical and conceptual understandings of the linocut medium. Contribution: By incorporating references from all three films, Blood Sisters engages with a broad spectrum of transgressive femininity, from female sexual identity, body image/addiction, and the witch stereotype. The linocut medium enables a fusion of historical and contemporary references within a single image. Significance: Blood Sisters has been shortlisted for the 2017 Fremantle Arts Centre Print Award, one of Australia's longest standing and most prestigious awards for the printmaking medium. Finalists are exhibited in an approved venue for the purposes of research reporting, having been judged by a panel of respected industry professionals from around Australia. As such, being short-listed for the award The work was also included in my solo exhibition Blood Moon, at the Salamanca Arts Centre, Hobart, at the invitation of the Stranger With My Face International Film Festival, dedicated to showcasing women within the horror genre. The unusual decision by the festival director to include a visual arts component within a film festival testifies to the capacity of my imagery to transcend mediums within, and contribute to, broader discussions of female otherness.