Friday, April 13, 2012

Scarlet updated!

Here below is the original statement I sent out weeks ago. Since then the response has been fascinating! A mixture of enthusiasm, support, humour, generosity, bravery, confusion, fear, repulsion and much more! A true conversation starter! I have contacted other artists who look at gender based issues and am hoping the project will continue to evolve. Thanks again for your interest! X Ali

 Scarlet!



 Ladies are you feeling brave?? Recently I have been looking at feminism, Freud and taboo, and the politics of menstruation. What fascinates me is that menstruating is still such a taboo subject in today's society. Nobody wants to talk about it and certainly not look at it. After the feminist movements of the 1960's and 70's with striking figures such as Germaine Greer and Judy Chicago, have we really come that far?? This got me thinking...

I took a photograph of my blood-stained 'period knickers' on the bathroom floor. At first I felt mildly ashamed, as though I was breaking some kind of unspoken law, but this shame quickly turned to exhilaration! I WAS breaking some kind of unspoken law and it felt great! A wonderful artist and feminist friend of mine suggested that I should encourage other women to do the same and send me their photographs. I thought this was a brilliant idea! A photograph of my blood-stained knickers on the wall is mildly provocative but a hundred photographs of OUR blood-stained knickers is a bold and powerful statement!

Ladies I would be honoured and deeply grateful if you would take part in this project. It will be on-going so there is no deadline for sending your photographs. Absolute anonymity and discretion is guaranteed. I cannot stress that enough! Please feel free to invite female friends and spread the word.

You can send your photographs to my email: alisaky0@gmail.com (that's a zero after the y!)

I, Ali Kirby am studying Sculpture and Combined Media in Limerick School of Art and Design. Please feel free to contact me at any time with questions or feedback relating to this project.


THANK YOU!

Conversation starter...

Monday, April 9, 2012

Liberating!



Recently I leaked and I was totally raging, but not because I leaked and ruined my knickers, because my knickers were black so it wouldn't make a decent photograph! That is certainly the first time I've had that reaction to my period!