Every month about 100 ml of blood is flowing out of me, a periodical reminder of my corporeality, organic nature, and mortality. Menstrual blood is a physiological fluid that carries a powerful symbolic charge. The symbolic aspect of blood is connected with both – life-giving sexuality and also with death. In many cultures, menstrual blood is considered impure, making the ambivalent character of blood even more pronounced. To create my works I use blood with comes from inside of me, flowing out of my body, making physiological processes visible, crossing the narrow boundary between what is private and what is public, and questioning the dichotomous division into internal and external.
At the beginning of the project, I was confronting in the symbolic way menstrual blood, lost through a natural process, with the blood of heroes and victims shed as a result of violence (or heroic decision). During the process, I have also connected it with the world of plants – flowers, trees, and tangled roots, which become witnesses to my bloody stories. Plants relate to the aspect of fertility and life-giving, as well as to the process of dying and being reborn which is an integral part of nature. To the network of relationships between myself and the world of which I am a part – the world in which everything flows. I situate my work in specific places of particular historical and natural significance – the nature reserve on Saint Ann’s Mountain in the Opole Province and the ecosystem of the La Plata River.
Blood also fascinates me because of its aesthetic quality; bright red against a pale body, natural texture, white or green. In my video productions, direct-to-camera performances, and photographs (except for the opening work in this series, created on impulse with no prior preparation), I pay great attention to formal qualities: classical composition, lighting, and attention to detail. It is only at the end that we learn that menstrual blood has been used in the work. This creates a tension between fascination and disgust.
I start the project in 2019
