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In Sickness and Health – The Female Body and Patriarchal Power
"Political significance of the woman's body, the full spectrum of power and powerlessness it represents..."
Woman´s health is being shaped by gender as an institution in society
as well as by various profound gendered processes affecting the self-image.
The aim of the project is to explore through art the political significance of
the science of medicine, power mechanisms of the society and the concepts
of health and sickness.
The project brings up questions that are essential to the theme such as
* How is health defined and by whom,
* Who is in control of a woman´s body, and
* What are the consequences of the fact that
the experience of the male body has been
declared as the fundamental experience in
the Western world.
The thematic areas and subjects covered include history of women healers,
medicalization of women, reproductive rights, menopause, menstruation,
women´s sexuality, environmental health & poverty & social class & women,
pregnancy related issues, body-image and self-image, female medical professionals.
The art works are based on various female figures throughout the history.
A Selection of Works
Eye-Goddess or Women's Sexuality (Photo of a girl c. 1940's). 92 x 70 cm -- 36 1/2" x 27"
Women As Healers or Health Care Reform - The Male Takeover of Healing (Terracotta goddess 5000 BCE). 60 x 40 cm -- 24" x 16"
Normal Female Functions or The Medicalization of Women (Egyptian Sky-Goddess Nut). 68 x 85 cm -- 27" x 33 1/2"
Reposessing The Body or Women and The Medical System (Odalisk by Ingres, 1814). 57 x 68 cm -- 22 1/2" x 27"
Clear Blue or Women and Reproductive Rights (Roman Female Athlete 400 BCE).
87 x 67 cm -- 34 1/2" x 26 1/2"
In Sickness & Health Project: Notes and Bibliography
Courtesy of Lily Diaz, Media Lab, University of Art and Design
In Sickness & Health was also a collaborative web project
presented at The Terror, ISEA -98