We were all born to create, but human creation wouldn’t be at all possible without women, the creators of us all.
“Born to Create” is an inspirational series of artworks celebrating heroines from all around the world. Women from the past and women who are currently shifting the paradigm from being the ‘’others’’, as Simone de Beauvoir describes in her book ‘The Second Sex’, to women as powerful agents of change.
We might think that the time when women were oppressed and couldn’t really fulfill their desires or access their basic rights are long gone. This couldn’t be further from the truth. While it may not necessarily be yesterday’s battles (the right to vote, the right to open a bank account in your name), today there are a number of struggles and barriers women have to overcome (equal pay, menstrual stigma, reproductive rights barriers, lack of women in leadership and more). Look around the world, there are still countries where women are a commodity and the fight for equality isn’t over even in developed countries.
“Born to Create” began as a solo exhibition across Auckland’s galleries and the Pullman Hotel. Lucie wanted to profile these amazing women to inspire communities and youths and to show that you don’t have to be famous in order to make a difference in the world around you. The intention wasn’t to tell the women’s stories through the visual response but encourage the audience to learn more about women displayed. To satisfy this curiosity Lucie created a website to profile the featured heroines.
Lucie resides in New Zealand and her current collection is focused on local women who are inspirational not only to her but to the younger generation as well. Amongst these women, you can find Rosa Parks (civil rights activist), Malala Yousafzai (activist for female education), Anneke Lucas (advocate for child sex trafficking victims), Jane Goodall (primatologist and anthropologist), Marie Colvin (foreign affairs correspondent for the British newspaper) and many others.
‘”What really inspired me were my girlfriends. One day I realized how each one of them is unique in their own way and how they are eager to help and try to make the world a better place. And they don’t just try, they actually actively make it happen by being a role model and therefore inspirational seed for future generations. That’s absolutely enough for celebration in my eyes. I then decided to look more closely at the women who do good in our society,” said Lucie about her project.
The reason to interpret women is very simple: There hasn’t been enough acknowledgement and appreciation of what some of the women did or are doing right now. Without the bravery and courage of these women, we wouldn’t have as much freedom we do have now. Of course, there is still a long journey to go but the progress we’ve made so far deserves to be celebrated.
Her aim is to inspire you with portrays she created. Some of the stories make us realize that each step toward freedom is important. There are no small steps. Each contribution to equality and betterment of the world has its own power. We all are heroines.
Lucie is encouraging the community to share your heroines via www.lucieblaze-borntocreate.com. You can also follow Lucie and her work on Facebook and Instagram. We have included some of her powerful images in this article with permission.
