Self-published, 32 pages, available both as .pdf and a printed version of 47 copies.
Download the .pdf here Monko_Zine_screen
I published this zine, inspired by the visual language of fertility figurines of Paleolithic and Neolithic societies of Old Europe. According to Lithuanian-American archeologist Marija Gimbutas, these were the civilisations where feminine energy was believed to have a transformative power.
The fertility goddesses are mostly depicted with exaggerated breasts, buttocks or vulvas, and sometimes combined with the features of animals. The symbols of water and lunar cycles were used on everyday objects, in the temples and on tombstones. In this zine, I’m combining these representations of ancient societies with the depictions of female body, fertility, and reproduction from recent history and modern times.
I’ve been fascinated by these subjects for quite some time. It’s partly connected to my own aging, and observing the bodily and hormonal changes happening to me. On the other hand, living in the world dominated by masculine energy, with wars happening nearby I cannot help but dreaming of the egalitarian society with the absence of warfare, of the communities worshipping regeneration, living in harmony with nature, refining the technologies and material culture, such as the Neolithic civilisation introduced to us by Gimbutas.