Evie Shucart
When Jennifer approached me with this concept I initially thought, I've done this before, why are we still discussing it? Many years ago, in the late 60's and early 70's women artists were exploring all kinds of topics and expressing themselves in ways that were very taboo during the 50's when we grew up. We created art that spoke to topics like childbirth, puberty, rape, incest and other controversial themes that at the time were shocking. We sculpted our personal views of nudity and made canvasses of our bodies.

As for menstruation, many of our Mothers never even informed us of what was happening to our bodies and it was terrifying for menstruation to happen unexpectedly. Some of my peers actually had no idea what was happening with first menses and thought they had been injured or had a terrible disease. Many a school nurse had to be the one to inform them that it was perfectly natural.

However, it seems that even now, in our more mature culture, we still do not acknowledge or celebrate what is or should be a sacred rite of passage for girls. In fairness, neither do we acknowledge the same for boys when they go through puberty.

The continuing use of phrases like “on the rag” perpetuate the myth of women as angry and emotionally unstable during menstruation. I want to make art that speaks to the beauty of menstruation as evidence of our womanhood. The gift of having the capability of bearing children is just that, a gift. Not a curse. Whether we bear those children or choose to go through our lives without them, I want this work to ring true as a celebration of women, joy in our unique monthly journey and yes, a little sympathy for the pain of it all.

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