VIVIAN MANZARDO

Too Strong, Too Soft

Reclaiming the Female Body Through Craft

Keywords:

Feminism, Gender inequality, Stigmatisation of female-identifying bodies, Gender roles, Domestic/public space, Gendered craft, Forge-woman (blacksmithing), Silversmithing, Ceramics

Too Strong, Too Soft is a mixed-media installation grounded in feminist theory, highlighting and criticising the patriarchal structures still embedded in modern systems. It engages with feminism as both a theoretical framework and a socio-political movement that advocates for the equality and visibility of women and female-identifying individuals. The work draws on gender theory, acknowledging gender as a socially constructed, context-dependent category that shapes norms, expectations, and power relations.

Situating itself within contemporary craft and material-based art practices, the work uses blacksmithing, ceramics, and jewellery as feminist tools of resistance. Through three interconnected sculptural works — Breathe, How Heavy is Your Period (Product)?, and Tools of Resilience — the installation guides the viewer along a journey from the domestic sphere to society. Reinterpreting traditionally gendered crafts, it challenges cultural taboos surrounding the female body and the notions of strength, resilience and fragility.

Combining material experimentation with poetic writing and critical analysis, Too Strong, Too Soft reclaims craft as a space for political expression and bodily autonomy, transforming emotions such as anger, shame and frustration into forms of creative resistance.

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