The “Menstruation” collection was my first serious appearance as an artist. Because these photos, however it was only a few numbers, faced a lot of positive and negative comments and criticisms during their presence on the online Photographer of the Week Competition, 2009-2010. And in the end, I received the title of the Best Photographer of the Week from the audiences, who were mostly either photographers or interested in and aware of this field. Despite all the encouragements and rejections, it was what made me interested to take the art experiment more serious.
“Menstruation is the discharge of blood from the inner lining of the uterus; which occurs regularly in the female genus of certain species of mammals from puberty to the postmenopausal period. In many women, various physical changes are brought about by fluctuations in sex hormone levels during the menstrual cycle and with the muscle contractions of the uterus (menstrual cramping), many women experience painful cramps during menstruation. Some women experience mental disorders during this period. These disorders vary from irritability to fatigue or even crying”.
And I used the “Menstruation”, this natural function that is only specific for women all over the world, as a metaphor for the women suffers in the society which I experience and live as a woman. I used it as a witness for all the pressures and pains endured in the society every moment, every day.
Because discriminations, judgments, restrictions, coercions and denials only concern the female, which sometimes ends in the discharge of blood from the inner lining of her brain so she can breathe in the body and soul of a woman.
Razieh Aarabi