RAISING THE SKIRT
NICOLA CANAVAN TELLS ANNA MCNAY ABOUT HER PROJECT TO HONOUR THE VULVA
The tradition of “raising the skirt” has its roots as far back as Ancient Greece. In global folklore, the revelation of a woman’s genitals – her cunt – has been thought to calm the forces of nature and drive away evil spirits. In Britain and Ireland sheela-na-gigs (stone carvings of females with exaggerated vulva) were placed above church doorways for precisely these reasons.