HYSTERA

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Sara Dare’s practice is marked by a distinctive manipulation of simple and familiar, shapes, and colours and altering them in ways that elicit curiosity, confrontation, or amusement. Her works seek to strike a balance between the playful and provocative.

Her current body of work, titled Hystera, explores the intersection of the 'V' shape with personal and cultural narratives of womanhood. Drawing inspiration from Kenneth Noland, Dare reclaims the 'V' - a symbol that is visually bold and embraces it’s meaning.

Within the context of Dare’s practice, the chevron or 'V' is a symbol of feminine empowerment, asserting itself with relevance to Dares previous works. The title Hystera - the Greek word for uterus tying the theme of female bodily experience directly to the work. This personal connection is underscored by Dare’s recent hysterectomy, which introduced new terminology to her in her 40’s - the "Vault," where the cervix once was, and the "Void," where the uterus once existed. Dare’s exploration of the 'V' shape within this context reflects both a reclaiming of feminine symbols and a meditation on the profound changes in her own body.

The assertive forms in her compositions push against the edges of the canvas, unlike the softer, more fluid shapes she previously employed. These more angular compositions now forcefully engaging with the periphery.

 

The 'V' symbol has a long and potent history within feminist culture. Historically, it has been used to represent female genitalia, with the "V" shape evoking the idea of a woman’s body and its inherent power. The feminist movement of the 1970s embraced this symbol in its iconic form - the raised "V" hand gesture, often accompanied by the slogan "Victory" or "Viva," used to signify empowerment and solidarity. This gesture became a universal sign of resistance, pride, and autonomy in the face of patriarchal oppression. In addition, the 'V' is linked to the concept of the Divine Feminine, an archetype that embodies qualities of creation, nurturance, and transformation. In sacred geometry, the 'V' shape is also connected to the Vesica Piscis, the overlapping of two circles that form an almond shape—a symbol of fertility and femininity.

 

Dare’s paintings within Hystera are deeply integrated into the canvas itself. She stains the canvas, creating an intimate relationship between the surface and the image, allowing the shapes to emerge as part of the object, rather than merely an image on a surface. This technique deobjectifies the form, playing with the interaction of positive and negative space. The blurred edges between colours add to the organic, fleshy texture of the works, giving them a pulsating quality. This subtle, tactile bleed of colour further emphasises the work's intimate connection to the body, avoiding any sense of artificiality and instead evoking a sense of the natural, the visceral, and the real.

 

Through this series, Dare invites the viewer to reconsider the symbolism of the 'V' not only in a visual context but also as a deeply embedded symbol of femininity, bodily autonomy, and the transformation of personal experience into cultural expression.