Habemus Mamam

Yvonne Grul

Keywords: Living heritage, Identity, Vitality and ageing

yvonnegrul.art, mail@yvonnegrul.art

Arise, we women here at church / and close the rows this time / we have been hoping for recognition for centuries / because it really can't be that way anymore / that neglect of us women / that makes us their pawns ... [Chorus] Women here now united / ready for battle now / because this discrimination / in church is outdated / women here now united / ready for battle now / because this discrimination / in church is outdated ... [Verse] Away with the power of the Roman Curia / arise, with spirit and fire / many women can rule well / and want to be at the wheel

This scene is from a battlesong, as part of a cabaret. Written by my mother at the age of 81 on the occasion of the 175-anniversary of the local church she is affiliated with.

The installation 'Habemus Mamam' builds around my mother's fiery and deeply felt ideas about the position of women in the Roman Church. As a daughter representing the next generation and as an artist, I process what was, what is and what may be in the Church's field of tension between tradition and modernization. Last but not least, the work sheds a light on what it can mean to be part of society in old age.