By Louise-Marie Bédard
 
My vagina is a shell, a round pink tender shell, opening and closing, closing and opening. My vagina is a flower, an eccentric tulip, the centre acute and deep, the scent delicate, the petals gentle but sturdy.

The Vagina Monologues was first produced in 1996 and was a big success on Broadway. It was later translated in twenty-six languages and played in over thirty countries. Eve Ensler, the author, imposed certain conditions: her text must be read or interpreted by one or several women, voluntarily, and all proceeds must go to organisations that work to stop violence against women. These conditions were always respected and were the prelude to the creation of V-Day, an organisation with several chapters around the world, including Montreal (vdaymontreal.blogspot.com). “V-Day is a demand: Rape, incest, battery, genital mutilation and sexual slavery must end (…) by raising money and consciousness, it will unify and strengthen anti-violence efforts (…) We will not stop until the violence stops.”

The play is the synthesis of several interviews (roughly two-hundred) of women from three generations that express their views on sexuality, and shed light on taboos and prohibitions. We are at once shocked, moved, stirred, touched and amused by the anecdotes. The Vagina Monologues are unique because of the richness and diversity of the feminine vision that they offer. Ginette Reno, Tara Spencer-Nairn, Kim D’Eon, Eva Avila, Nathalie Lauzon, Marie-Josée Turcotte, Sophie Grégoire, Geneviève Saint-Germain and Anne-Marie Laberge will read excerpts from the play on March 27th. Joël Legendre, a multidisciplinary artist, will be this special event’s MC.

With this event/exhibit, the MX Gallery will shake tradition and surprise the audience by its innovation in the visual arts field, by reaching further than the realm of amateurs, however bearing in mind its first mission, which is to represent the artists. Niko is the central focus of this evening.

Disillusioned Glamour
 
To each his own progression through colour, space and gesture. Niko, was born in Montreal in a family of artists, and was influenced by her nomadic lifestyle in glamorous places. She worked in the fashion industry and travelled the world and has since depicted a world of appearances that cultivates one’s image, as if it was a biography.

With strokes and lines, impulsive brushes, bright colours and contrasts, she paints women with a vibrant and crying sensuality that is expressed with full lips and make-up. Their gaze taunts the spectator and expresses the artist’s questions, or perhaps our own. It is up to us to find our own meaning. This work of art can be translated in many languages but depending on perception and filters, each one’s interpretation is different. We rarely speak about the violence against physical beauty. In a world of appearances focused on the ideals of youth and a perfect face, we forget that behind this face or mask, the difficult consequences of these standards and beauty may lay hidden. In a dual system there is always a hidden and dark side. An invisible violence is expressed in the wings of pretence.

“A beautiful woman may arouse envy, desire and adulation but also the opposite” according to Niko. We try to find her flaws. We may disfigure her with contempt and often with jealousy. Women don’t always appreciate another one’s beauty, because of their compared physical attributes, or because of ideology and feminist values. Men forget that she is more than a pretty package, a sexual prey or a trophy carried with pride. Like every other woman, she may or may not be witty. We may forgive her foolishness but in most cases we are unforgiving. This foolishness becomes an easy weapon to destroy her beauty. “Some women are so destabilised by a man’s gaze and depend on it to such an extent that they lose control over their emotions and see other women as rivals. More than anything, they want to please, rather than building their inner well-being. Beauty may be found in all things for those who know how to recognise it, but it first must be found in oneself.”

In Niko’s work, faces with exaggerated make-up, a disillusioned and surprisingly immobile stare, carry their own meaning. Do they show another image of themselves? An unconventional image? Every woman poses for the camera. Those who hide from the lens probably also hide from something else. An immortalised image set on paper. These circumstances aren’t a coincidence. Like a mirror, the artificial and frozen image, may show us something familiar that we would rather not see.

A Metamorphosed Face

In her new series, one or several women are at the centre of the canvas. Their skin colour and the setting often change but there is more to it. Their gaze is different. “The way I see myself and other women is also different, says Niko. The question of respect, self-respect, influences my compositions. I was often told that women had a sad or mysterious stare. It is now more serene but also more direct. It is probably because I have nothing to hide. I am more detached from the male gaze. In my life and work, I let it go. I used to try to please and control my gestures. The Vagina Monologues made me think about my life, my sexuality and my art. The questioning remains...”

Niko studied at the La Renaissance Fine Arts School. She then took drawing at the Saidye Bronfman Centre. She studied and specialised in portraits. From her daily practice of yoga and meditation, which is necessary for her balance, she finds the energy to paint and grow as a human being. “I am less focused on appearances and belongings, pleasing collectors and selling my paintings, which used to be a source of tension. I am more detached, serene and find more joy in painting.”

She will not only be part of this prestigious event based on The Vagina Monologues, at the MX Gallery, but will also be shown at the Las Olas Gallery, in Florida, which brings her great pride as a woman and artist. “I am filled with gratitude.” Respect, self-esteem, solidarity, a profound dialogue between women and refusing violence are at the heart of her approach. By looking at the reality and point of view of other women, she has helped her own evolution and broadened her own horizons. Some issues that she hadn’t paid attention to, because she was not directly confronted to them, now guide her inspiration, as her paintings show us. An evolution to be continued.

This leading event at the gallery proves that we can reunite seemingly different strengths, to serve several causes and to give them all the exposure they need to achieve their mission. This is a remarkable initiative!