Rituals of a Matriarchal Utopia

Contemporary social media recognize the generational trauma that the history of witch-hunting carries. They seek to return to the rituals that followed the witches, enriching them with the ultimate goal of regaining control over the body.
For example, various sides of TikTok (e.g., witchtok, queertok, selfcaretok, etc.) often make reference to slowing down the pace of life.
Contrary to the continuous growth model of a fast economy, where the body takes on the identity of a machine, the need arises to search for and understand the identity of the body in the present.

In "Rituals of a Matriarchal Utopia," Joanna Bacas explores personal and collective rituals that attempt to introduce and familiarize us with a fem/queer utopia. Using multiple visual media, she occupies the space of HGW STD. and creates her own mystical ritual of self-care.
Both care and self-care are languages that emerged from trauma, with the aim of understanding oneself as well as for community building. Social pain combined with the physical pains experienced by the fem/queer subject in question, paralyze and isolate them physically and psychologically. At the same time, they force them to find their own way to survive and exist. How does a fem/queer individual escape the imposed identities of fast economy, patriarchy, and conservatism? What weapons do they possess in order to discover the identities that satisfy them? Why are they forced to create utopias? How, respectively, can they build communities with other equally oppressed subjects?

Curated by: Socrates Stamatatos
Visual/Light Design by: Stella Zafiriou
Graphic Design by: Stefani Bednarova
Produced by: HGW STD.
Supported by: CURRENT Athens