Part 1 - Searching for Threads of Overlap


Overview:
Eleventh House is a digital project that is curated and edited by Erika DeFreitas. The project explores the rituals and traditions of astrology reading and horoscope writing. Each of the six artists involved with this work explores astrology and astrological signs from a different viewpoint. Some approach the subject with cynicism and others in earnest but whatever stand the individual artists take, they're all searching for ways to make sense of relationships under the global circumstances of the coronavirus.

Meg Prosper in Heartbreak Horoscope-
This section gives love and heartbreak advice for the individual sun signs.

Walter Scott in Toxic Astrology-
This section is a witty satirical set of comics about the culture surrounding astrology.

annieanniewongwong and Emmie Tsumura in Kindred Trines-
This section talks about the lunar zodiacs and reflects on friendship among trine-bonds through the year of the Metal Rat (2020)

Meech Boakye and Dainesha Nugent-Palache in Signed Advice-
This section explores the astrological trajectory of all the Sun Signs. Examining what each sign should focus on in the upcoming year along with simple but beautiful designs for all the signs.

Part 2 - Threads with my work

I had a hard time finding an artist who explores the same topics as my current research (memory) who also inspires me. So I decided to focus this assignment on finding inspiration as an artist and aesthetically instead of thematically. With everything going on in the world right now I have been having a hard time putting passion back into my art but Joana helps remind me why I love doing what I do. She the kind of person who really knows how to suck all the nectar out of life. You can tell that she has such a light soul and I always feel grateful for life and inspired to create after watching her videos. I also love how she explores material by making pigments with the natural materials that she finds all around her. In a way, her use of material could be tied to memory. The earth and water and land hold immense memory...maybe just not for me personally...but now that I'm thinking about it I would like to explore that idea further. I also appreciate how she talks about her creative process as an exploration of material and the world around her, she does not put pressure on her art to be anything other than what it wants to be.

"[...] and remember, creativity is meant to be free. Just let it flow."
- Joana Jinton

Part 2 - Curatorial Threads and Thesis

Thesis: Finding gratitude and respect for life through nature

Curatorial thread 1: Our changing climate and art: taking care of our home-

As all of her work interacts with nature, her paintings could be included in an exhibition that explores themes of climate change and what it means to take care of our home. In her videos, she always talks about home as not only her house but the land the surrounds her house even though she doesn't own it. The village she lives in has great respect for the land around them and they do there best to live slow and sustainably.

Curatorial thread 3: How we can pull energy and light from nature to feel more joy and find gratitude-

Joana is a very introspective person and has found a way to bring so much light into her life through the natural world that she is grateful to experience every day. I think we could all learn from her. The aesthetic of her photography and videos is peaceful and full of light. Thus, it could be exhibited to explore themes around the energy that is available from nature and how we can harness that energy.

Curatorial thread 2: Finding connections of ancestry through the earth-

Joana has lived in Sweden her whole life, as has all of her family. Vikings were her ancestors and she often tries to find ways to feel closer to that. She learns to play ancient instruments and to sing 'Kulning' or 'herding calls'. Her exploration of material could also be connected to the land of her ancestors and the idea of feeling connected to them by physically interacting with the land through her paintings.

Part #1: Threads of overlap-

Although each artist comes from a different background and uses and different mediums and has different opinions about the validity of astrology, through the exhibition I get a feeling that they all value the importance of relationships. Be that romantic, platonic, family, friends or ourselves it's important that we have the right tools to navigate these relationships. The project spans topics from toxic relationships, heartbreak, love, personal growth and the culture around astrology. Even though the artists approach this project in unique and individual ways, there is still a strong visual unity through the exhibition which helps solidify the overall theme.

This work feels grounding and almost spiritual. We are all going through collective trauma to varying degrees right now. So I think another overlapping thread I see is a universal need to feel connected and find ways to heal.

I think that in the context of the world right viewers can take a lot from this exhibition. Whether that's advice, feeling connected or maybe just a laugh

Eleventh House is referred to as the house of friends and the exhibition questions what it means to have a community during a global pandemic. It explores ways we can feel connected while being socially disconnected.