Installation

wooden frame, velvet, sanitary napkin, menstrual blood

cm 90 x 75

2021

The first menstruation, or menarche, is a very important time in a girl's life, because it marks the beginning of puberty and the entry into the fertile period. In most women, the first menstruation occurs between the ages of 10 and 15. The term menarca derives from the Greek menòs, month and archè, beginning, to indicate the cyclical character that it will assume over time. The name also recalls the Goddess Mena, protector of the cycle and fertility. It is rarely called by its name, and often is experienced with embarrassment and shame, the legacy of an old mentality, for which it was not talked about either at school or at home, but only in secret with friends, feeding false myths including the belief that during the cycle are to be avoided many activities, such as gym, swimming pool, swimming in the sea ... In this evolutionary phase, girls are prey to deep inner conflicts, related both to changes in their bodies and to the effect of hormones on the nervous system, leading to manifestations of restlessness, mood swings and behavioral excesses ranging from excessive happiness to nervousness. The work opens a door to numerous interpretations that investigate the theme on various levels: in addition to the symbolic and aesthetic meaning, it tackles one of the most debated issues of our time, the pollution of female hygienic waste, it opens a question on the materials of which they are compounds, which are slowly proposed in organic versions, rather than plastics or materials which, moreover, cause irritation and bacterial infections. Not least the question of taxation on sanitary towels as luxury goods, and last but not least, the fear and revulsion that men and women feel at the sight of menstrual blood. The tampon/absorbent is made of cotton and 100% organic, and is stained with menstrual blood. It is placed inside a baroque frame, on a red velvet background and in a vertical position: this evokes the sacred image of God on the cross. It is a direct and strong image, which does not need too many explanations.