Cartographies of consciousness-raising : mapping out a feminist approach in the work of Marlene Creates

Between 1987 and 1991, contemporary Canadian artist Marlene Creates (b. 1952) produced three separate "memory map" series of mixed-media assemblages consisting of black and white photographs, text, hand-drawn "memory maps" and in some instances, natural elements selected from the environment. The works present the stories, remembrances and recollections by elderly inhabitants of their experiences in and relationships to specific geographical locales. In these works Creates' employed an autobiographical approach to explore the intersections between experience, identity and the land(scape). The specific concerns and social function of these works will be discussed as informed by and concerned with feminist theory and practice. This will be undertaken in order to show that an underlying political strategy informs both the production and the reception of these works