The exhibition Lactism rethinks the position of women in relation to our ecosystem; the project presents a society without geopolitical borders, through a utopian religion that originated in Jerusalem. Concepts such as "nation" or "borders," with their existing systemic and economic functionality, are irrelevant to followers of Lacticism. The exhibition space will subsequently host a series of follow-up programes focusing on intercultural dialogue and art therapy workshops for survivors of the 7 October 2023 terrorist attack.
LACTISM: The new monotheistic religion worshiping the goddess Lacteria
Artists: Tamara Moyzes & Shlomi Yaffe
Curator: Lee He Shulov
The Lacteria Goddess was created by a collective of women: Maayan Sheleff, Věra Duždová Horváthová, Hannan Abu Hussein, Osher Kasa, Lee He Shulov, MIchal Mendelboim, Tran Hong Van, Trương Thu Thủy, Lea Mauas, Noa Pardo, Liora Lupian, Rosa Andraschek.
The exhibition is a part of the Manofim festival in Jerusalem, at the Art Cube Artists' Studios.
The exhibition Lactism revolves around the central concepts of human connection, sociality and interactions between man and the environment. The exhibition is part of an ongoing project by the artists Shlomi Yaffe and Tamara Moyzes that deals with social aspects of environmental quality and egalitarian social imagination, in which the concept of justice also applies to that which is not human. ׳Lactism is a new monotheistic religion that is a product of the imagination of the artists and at the same time serves as a model of human relations and social organization, and focuses on the connection between different women from around the world of which the mother goddess Lactaria is composed, and imagines the existence of a society free from gender differences, geopolitical, religious and cultural. The goddess Lactaria, feeds the community via an underground network called mycelium (the vegetative part of mushrooms consisting of roots).
During the months of the exhibition, it will be possible to follow the growth of the mycelium as part of the display. The artists were inspired by the crucial role of the mycelium in ecosystems, where each fungal thread depends on and serves the whole. In the exhibition, the mycelium represents a new, feminine, boundless social structure, a matrix of kinship relations, care and nurturing.
Text by Nikola Ludlová
Tamara Moyzes
Tamara is a political artist, curator and documentary filmmaker living and working in Prague. Her work focuses on the status of minorities, xenophobia, racism, nationalism, queer issues and the conflict in the Middle East.
Tamara specializes in documentary filmmaking, video art and new media. She creates fictional video documentaries in which she often uses parodic techniques and irony. She seeks to intervene in public space. For a long time, she has been dealing with the status of minorities, xenophobia, racism and nationalism, e.g. in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Roma issues; also feminism and religion. Her husband, Israeli artist Shlomi Yaffe, collaborates with her on some of her projects. Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
Tamara Moyzes - Official website
Partners: Anna Lindh Foundation, Czech Centre Tel Aviv, Czech House Jerusalem, Slovak Institute Jerusalem, H&H Friedmann, Aritivis Lab, Kampus Hybernská, Farm IMAADAMA, Kavárna Hlína, Uneventful records
