HEAL
presents Art and Medicine
Wednesday, May 10th, 2023
12:00 PM | McKibben 249
A conversation with Artist Rachael Jablo and Artist and Residence Ted Meyer
The Hysteria Project is a one-on-one storytelling project dealing with menstruation, reproductive, and pelvic disorders, illustrated by individual portraits of participants’ reproductive organs based on their stories. These life-size, intimate works start in a traditional darkroom where I use lace instead of negatives to make color prints that I cut up and collage onto a gold leaf background. The exhibited works are mounted in gilded laser-cut plexiglass frames.
The process of actively listening to people tell the narrative of their bodies, sometimes for the first time, is as vital as the actual artworks. This is listening as activism.
The online archive of stories and artwork is searchable by symptom, diagnosis, and keyword. People with gynecological disorders can thus read stories and see that they are not alone in their experiences. Moreover, doctors and future medical practitioners can learn from our lived experience and become better, more compassionate caregivers.