Reclaiming the crone
'I wanted to make art that empowered older women and create role models for younger women to aspire to'
Reclaim The Crone is the title and theme of Melbourne artist Gabrielle New’s upcoming show. She spoke to The AJN about her inspiration saying, “I started making Reclaim the Crone when I turned 50. I was looking for strong, older female role models and repeatedly came up against messages in the media about the invisibility of older women.”
She added, “I wanted to make art that empowered older women and create role models for younger women to aspire to.”
Reclaim the Crone uses contemporary Butoh dance theatre, projection, poetry and song, to reclaim the archetype of the Wise Old Woman.
Growing up in the Jewish community, New explained that “most of the people in power in our stories and legends were men”, adding that she herself didn’t have “strong, older female role models to aspire to”.
“I think that my older Jewish female role models struggled with ageing,” she told The AJN.
She explained that if older women were recognised for their “strength, beauty and power”, humanity could “move in a more positive and healing direction”.
She said when she turned 50, she felt “quite privileged to have made it that far”, adding that many of her friends didn’t.
“I wasn’t going to buy into being shoved into that cultural shadow that older women are put into,” she said.
Talking about the show New described a scene during which one of the performers Helen Smith is just in her underwear, “she’s looking into a mirror… and it’s like she’s seeing her ageing body for the first time, but she sees it in a curious childlike way and she plays with all the saggy, baggy bits and the grey hairs and the wrinkles in a very accepting, fun and beautiful way.”
She told The AJN that wrinkles can be “the stories of your life that are now etched into your skin and into your body and that your body carries all this wisdom and strength and that’s beautiful”.
She hopes that those leaving the show will think not only that “these women are making this amazing art, but also …[that] ageing is cool, something to look forward to … I want to be a dangerous old crone too.”
The show is at the Peninsula Community Theatre on April 22 and 23. Bookings: trybooking.com/CFKMR
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