The Great Cosmic Mother: Rediscovering the Religion of the Earth

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Many thanks to the Moni ca Sjöö Archive team in the UK and SE for this thought-provoking opportunity.

The ancients believed that life began in the waters and rivers, streams, wells and springs that are sacred to Her.’ Tracing the artist’s deep commitment to gender and environmental justice,The Great Cosmic Mothershowcases Sjöö’s large-scale paintings created in response to the wide-ranging feminist and environmental campaigns she was actively involved in throughout her life. Sjöö’s prescient artworks were a pioneering form of environmental activism and anticipated politically urgent debates surrounding the climate emergency today. Some Thoughts on Menstruation" (PDF). Menstrual Taboos. Vol.2. London: London Matriarchy Study Group. pp.11–13. Monica Sjöö Memorial Trust". Monica Sjöö. Archived from the original on 15 October 2007 . Retrieved 28 January 2018. The gallery curatorial team are staging a retrospective of Monica Sjöö’s paintings and poster art. The show is called, Monica Sjöö The Time is NOW And it is Overdue! The exhibition runs from the 11th June until 10th September 2022.Sjöö, Monica (1973). "För en revolutionär feministisk konst". Vi Människor (in Swedish). 25 (4): 22–26. Björk, Chanda (Fall 2010). Vulvan, förlossningen och mötet med modergudinnan. Om Monica Sjöös målning God giving birth (PDF) (Masters thesis) (in Swedish). Sweden: Södertörn University. Monica Sjöö linked many of her ideas to The Great Mother, a figure that is found in many cultures throughout history. For Sjöö, the essence of The Great Mother was present in all phases of life, as an experience that imbues both nature and being.

Monica Sjöö with Barbara Mor, The Ancient Religion of The Great Cosmic Mother of All. Trondheim, Norway: Rainbow Press, 1981. ISBN 82-7223-012-7. The Great Mother was the projection of the self-experience of groups of highly aware and productive women who were the founders of much of human culture. In this sense the Great Mother is not simply a mental archetype, but a historical fact.” Sjöö's art and writing became well-known outside of the UK, and throughout the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s she corresponded with influential American writers, artists and pagans such as Jean and Ruth Mountaingrove, Starhawk, Zsuzsanna Budapest, Shekhinah Mountainwater, Lucy Lippard, Alice Walker, and Judy Chicago. Find sources: "Barbara Mor"– news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR ( January 2016) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message) Gunnarsson, Annika (2010). "Monica Sjöö". In Nilsson, John Peter (ed.). Det Andra Önskemuseet: The Second Museum of Our Wishes (in Swedish). Göttingen: Steidl. pp.104–108. ISBN 9783869301457.Thanks for inviting me to have this residency, I’ve enjoyed looking through my work and remembering the inspiration and courage of Monica , to be her own artist. We often fail to recognise that these creative instincts we have are such a major part of our existence here on earth and allow us to find ways to belong here . I hope that my work has reached and touched others along the way. /Deasy Larsen, Eric (7 January 2011). "Some Thoughts on The Significance of "The First God" also titled "The Great Cosmic Mother: Rediscovering the Religion of the Earth" (pub. 1987) by Barbara Mor" (PDF). The Oliver Arts & Open Press. Raivio, Magdalena (2007). "Transforming Reality or Reinforcing Stereotypes? On the Use of Birth-Giving as Metaphor in a Spiritual Ecofeminist Context". In Stenström, Hanna; Vuola, Elina; Bieberstein, Sabine (eds.). Scandinavian Critique of Anglo-American Feminist Theology. Journal of the European Society of Women in Theological Research. Vol.15. Leuven: Peeters. p.150. doi: 10.2143/ESWTR.15.0.2022774. ISBN 978-90-429-1974-7. Monica Sjöö’s profound commitment to the peace movement was fuelled by the military escalation in the 1980s. She organised several political campaigns, and participated with women’s groups such as “Women for Life on Earth” in peace marches and anti-nuclear weapons camps at RAF Brawdy and Greenham Common. Women chained themselves to military facilities to protest against what they perceived as an overhanging threat to all life on earth and to promote disarmament. Sjöö used imagery in her paintings which often references birth, the female body, and nature. All of these images were central to her beliefs regarding her "Cosmic Mother". She described herself as among the pioneers in this movement of reclaiming female divinity – along with many other writers, artists, poets, and thinkers. In her art, she attempted to "holistically express" her growing religious belief in the Great Mother as the cosmic spirit and generative force in the universe. This was a critical component of her artwork. She claimed to enter a "state" of being or of mind where knowledge was available from past, present, and future.