American artist opens menstruation-inspired weavings exhibit

A woman’s monthly period is something that is normally hidden. The result is messy and the menstruation often comes with pain that a British company is about to set a precedent of providing a “period policy” in which female workers are given time off when their monthly cycles occur.

However, for photographer and artist Jackie Dives, the period could be made into a work of art. She has on display in her Etsy shop in Brooklyn, New York, hand-woven tapestries in which the only colours are white and blood red. Sold for $14 to $48 (AUD$19 to $64), Dives shares that the interest in menstruation-inspired art came from her experience when her period comes.

She suffers from anxiety and depression which worsens during her period. To help her deal with these negative effects of menstruation, Dives weaves as a form of therapy and help her relax at the end of the day, notes Mashable.

The tapestries, which one Etsy reviewer describes as “an elegant representation of that moment every menstruating woman/girl experiences,” also aim to remove the stigma attached to menstruation as something women only talk in whispers.

Dives confesses that she started to weave only less than a year ago. However, by producing more of these menstruation-themed tapestries, “I’m able to come to terms with this part of me and be more able to show it to more people.”

Outside weaving, Dives, as a lifestyle photographer, have taken photos of women giving birth and menstruating. She also made sculptures of mugs that are period-inspired. The tapestries are made from yarn, wools and wood.

It is not only women who could sympathise with other females over this physical experience that is linked to reproduction and motherhood. Men too, like Bex Baxter, director of Coexist, a social community group, likewise emphatise with 24 of his 31 employees who are women.

Baxter decided to introduce the period leave policy after seeing female staff, over the years, bent over double in pain when they have menstruation, but could not go home because their pain is usually not classified as being unwell. While all of his staff are allowed to go home if they are unwell, Baxter says,
“For us, we wanted a policy in place which recognizes and allows women to take time for their body’s natural cycle without putting this under the label of illness,” quotes Mirror.