Prototype for Tread Upon
The artwork in the photograph above is the prototype and realization of the image that impressed itself upon me. It is a floor piece and is titled Tread Upon. Having successfully showcased Tread Upon at a performance of The Vagina Monologues, the viewers reacted and conversation was initiated. Observing the viewers interaction with the piece, I envisaged ways to make it more experiential. I’m incorporating those ideas into the final piece which is in process. (Unfortunately, completion and viewing of Tread Upon is delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.)
I wrote the prose below to accompany the artwork.
Tread Upon visually brings forth an important conversation, an invitation to learn, evolve.
Repetition suggests conformity, culturally perpetuated in a myriad of ways, often swept under the rug.
Menstrual pads, for women only. White, suggesting purity, wholeness.
Blood represents life. Menstrual blood, womanhood.
Crochet, a domestic art, women’s work.
Tread upon, like a rug, disregarded, disrespected, dishonored, blue sky dreams trampled.
Blood stains, egg shaped. Birth. New beginnings.
Repetition suggests solidarity, joining together in our individuality, women with men, to shift perspective to equality for all.