Helena Araújo

Radical Softness is a term coined by the artist Lora Mathis as a response to the pervasive control of patriarchy on shaming things that are thought to be excessively sensitive, emotional or related to femininity. It carries the conviction that sharing your own feelings and desires unapologetically is actually a political move, and a way to install care in spaces and relationships. In my gentle wild squirts Helena expresses Radical Softness with finding the empowerment of being dramatic, hyper-emotional, vulnerable and refusing to be numbed. 

my gentle wild squirts is also a dripping wet strident cave where Helena explores the many voices that come through as an attempt to reach her most wary edges as well as to challenge any considered norm of beauty, femininity and harmony. It is a very visceral exchange with the space and audience, extending reverberation until it pulsates from within.