Fleshed Out: Feminist Art for Now
© Ria Vanden Eynde
Ria Vanden Eynde examines the intersection of body and feminist art. Drawing from her personal medical experiences, she highlights the beauty and resilience found within our physicality. Vanden Eynde critiques societal norms that marginalize women and advocates for embracing feminist art as a vehicle for social change and deeper connections among individuals.
Last month, as I sorted through my old medical records, I came across a couple of stills from the videoscope used during my uterus surgery (where they removed some fibroid tissue and endometriosis threads). To my surprise, I found them beautiful. The fibroid tissues appeared as round and apple-shaped, glistening in shades of lush reds and pinks. I don’t think they’re beautiful in the sense of a frilly, nice, consumerist loveliness, but in a deeper, poignant way, as corporeal mess, with its darkness and mystery. Beauty that points to what the body, every body, can endure, to its resilience. That's where true beauty and strength lie.
Inspired by these images, I began painting a self-portrait that gradually morphed into a personal interpretation of the ‘sheela na gig’ figure. I also added the scars my body carries from cancer surgeries (thyroid and breast). As I painted, I felt as though I was not only exploring the knowledge my body holds from those lived experiences, but also tapping into a deeper reservoir of intuition, resilience, and collective ancestral memory that flows through and connects us all.
I wonder if this kind of visceral work could foster deeper connections between us. Could it place us within a broader spiritual context or link us to a timeless lineage of ancestral wisdom? Personally, I believe feminist art about the body holds that potential – after all, we all inhabit a body, don’t we?
“I see my painting practice as a form of visual research, one that challenges conventional research methods by prioritizing subjective, tangible, and qualitative knowledge over traditional, quantitative approaches.”
The work is part of a series in which I turn to the body as the central subject, using my oils and brushes as a means to interrogate, document, and make sense of my personal lived experiences. I see my painting practice as a form of visual research, one that challenges conventional research methods by prioritizing subjective, tangible, and qualitative knowledge over traditional, quantitative approaches. In critiquing contemporary knowledge production – with its focus on quantification, rationality, categorization, and its ties to white patriarchal and capitalist structures – I aim to highlight the transformative potential of artistic inquiry. Perhaps it can open us up to ways in which artistic practice can serve as a vehicle for generating new insights, perspectives, and understanding of the human condition.
Embodied artwork invites us to recognize the unique characteristics of each human being— color, class, contingencies, and stories. While we may theoretically grasp the importance of acknowledging these particularities and valuing each body’s existence and voice, our current practices often fall dramatically short. The rigid, top-down, rational categorization, which attempts to neatly fit each and every one of us in little boxes, along with the definition of our shared humanity through frameworks like human rights, feels sterile without a complementary bottom-up, 'fleshed' approach to universalism. This bottom-up approach would encompass a multitude of narratives, embodied experiences, affirming the messy, complex richness and diversity of our human existence.
Embodied art possesses the latent force to deeply touch people, opening viewers’ minds to the experiences, sufferings, and struggles of others. This can lead to new ways of thinking and being in the world together. In Funny Weather, Art in an Emergency (2020), British writer Olivia Laing argues that artworks that take us deeply into the reality of another person’s life activate our empathic capabilities. Laing perceives art as a creative, active, and generous cultural force through which critical thinking and social justice can emerge, making art essential to civilization. Her idea of a “reparative reading” of a work of art resonates with me. At its core, the reparative motivation seeks to make something that ‘gives’ to someone else – someone you don’t know and may never meet. In other words, it has the potential to foster compassion.
I recognize that with this type of art, I am standing on the shoulders of feminist artists who came before me. It feels significant that I am creating these works at this moment, as the socio-political landscape in Europe and the US regresses, reasserting control over women’s bodies, undermining gender equality, and perpetuating patriarchal norms. I believe feminist art, like feminist action, should draw upon its long history of transformational potential and continually highlight the societal and structural limits on some bodies’ freedom and autonomy.
“By visually confronting the realities of embodiment — whether through representations of illness, aging, menstruation, childbirth, or sexual pleasure — feminist art disrupts dominant narratives that seek to sanitize, shame, or silence the bodily experiences of women and marginalized genders.”
In feminist art that focuses on the body, the themes of dignity and agency of each individual prevail, asserting that every individual has the right to autonomy and self-determination over their own bodies. By visually confronting the realities of embodiment — whether through representations of illness, aging, menstruation, childbirth, or sexual pleasure — feminist art disrupts dominant narratives that seek to sanitize, shame, or silence the bodily experiences of women and marginalized genders. Instead, it points to the complex, and inherently natural aspects of human existence, reclaiming the body as a site of power, resilience, and belonging.
Moreover, it reminds us of our inherent connection to the earth. It may reinsert the idea of embodied knowledge into our collective consciousness and remind us that we are not separate from nature but rather integral parts of it — as fleshed, corporeal beings. Viewed this way, feminist art production not only critiques oppressive power structures but also questions how gender, power, and politics intersect with our embodied experiences. It may also offer a vision for a more inclusive, equitable, and compassionate society where each body is honored, respected, and free.
“My paintings are a pictorial translation of my deeply personal experiences — ever changing, sometimes chaotic, confusing and open-ended onto the canvas, in an ongoing effort to make sense of them.”
I see my painting practice as an attempt to exemplify these ideas — one particular voice reinserting embodied knowledge into a broader discourse. My paintings are a pictorial translation of my deeply personal experiences — ever changing, sometimes chaotic, confusing and open-ended onto the canvas, in an ongoing effort to make sense of them. By offering a physical, individual interpretation of the human condition — particularly the experience of having a body that can suffer — my work may help others make sense of their own experiences with illness and scars. It could provide viewers with a fresh perspective or resonate deeply, creating a sense of connection and reducing feelings of isolation. I believe this type of practice fits into the long tradition of storytelling in art, where artists mirror and question how the societies we belong to shape the world and our lives.
Like feminist art that centers on the body can challenge oppressive norms and confront societal taboos, I hope my work invites viewers to appreciate both their own lived, embodied experiences and those of others. And perhaps, this type of painting practice could lead us to reflect on our assumptions, biases, and understandings of what it means to be human.
Ria Vanden Eynde is a Belgian painter with a passionate interest in the role art plays in our life and in our society. Through her practice, she explores how body-centered art can contribute to knowledge production, offering insights into the human experience while fostering connections between individuals and the environment.