Sheela-na-Gig......dress

Sooooo. This little number was created by by Hazel Moore as part of her degree show for the Glasgow School of Art.

A few thoughts. First I find it to be creative and pretty. I like the layered gathering that wraps diagonally against the bodice. And then there's the vagina. A statement of course but what is it? As always art is up for interpretation.

If the gown were to reveal a phallus what would we think? If a tux were to reveal a phallus what would we think?

My first thought was that the artist was attempting to explain that weddings are often considered a female event where the woman gets to wear her dream gown and fulfill her fairy princess wishes. The idea that the groom within a heterosexual union becomes marginalized.

I also thought that perhaps the art was meant to reveal truth. Often when I am people watching I see brains. I see people walking and bobbing around and I imagine a brain inside their head. A brain that is such a vital piece of each individual and a piece that controls so much in our lives.We are all walking brains.

A vagina is a vital as well. It doesn't go away during the fluffy romanticism of a "pure" white dress.

It wasn't until after I had ruminated that I noticed the title of the piece camouflaged in white at the top of the image which is featured on the Saatchi Gallery website. Sheela-na-Gig.

A Shella-na-Gig is a figurative carving of a naked woman featuring an exaggerated vulva. They are found on castles and churches and are often found in Britain and Ireland.

The above image is a Sheela-na-gig that can be found at Kilpeck Church in England.

Through my diggings I have learned that

The idea that Sheela na Gigs represent a popular theory suggest that the figures are meant to represent pagan goddess. Other researched theory suggest that some of the sheela na gigs were presented at wddings as the figures were shown to brides on their wedding day.

Other historians suggest that the figures were meant to ward off evil. Some figures in Ireland are referred to as "The Evil Eye Stones". Some believe that women in the 1600s would lift up their dresses to ward off evil spirits. A demon would be repulsed by the sight of a woman's body underneath the skirt. Sounds like sexist folklore to me. 

What is your take?