LAST BLOOD
‘......Art can be a tool, and we need to focus more clearly on what kind of tool it is - and what good it can do for us.’ (Armstrong & De Botton (2021:4)
Navigating my way through menopause has been no mean feat, simply because symptoms have not always been so obvious to me or the medical profession. However, it was during a period of acute anxiety (now clearly identified as a menopausal symptom) that I was turned away by doctors who saw me as a "nuisance". It was during this time, I became aware of a local woman that had gone missing, later found to have taken her own life due to insufficient resources and help regarding her ongoing symptoms. This was an especially difficult time that ran alongside a isolated existence where by natural support systems were denied during these period of Lockdowns.
During Covid-19, the reduced health care system couldn’t help women struggling and a general lack of knowledge regarding the menopause is nothing new - (quote from liz nemean) - it has been underfunded and disparaged by a predominately patriarchal society for centuries. This has resulted in women across all sections of society leading a reduced quality of life including health issues, loss of employment/careers, relationship breakdowns due to an onset of long-term range of physiological symptoms that have on some occasions led to suicide and other fatalities. ‘Fear of being labelled hysterical: 1 in 10 women experience suicidal thoughts due to perimenopause ’Many women are suffering in silence, not even talking to their partner or spouse about it,’ says expert Maya Oppenheim, Women’s Correspondent for Independent, October 2021
I began looking for answers in my companions of a similar disposition, as I too was struggling during this period. I organised a focus group of friends (22) and gave them questionaires, along with a given time to talk about their thought on this topic, so we could share experiences in a form of photo-therapy - this was at a time when lockdown restrictions were slowly being lifted and I used this period to see people and talk about the issues that were concerning me, so this became a labour of love but also a very difficult time approaching and discussing sensitive symptoms and personal thoughts. I wanted to record this time with a portrait of each of the women during the interview to 'capture' this time and to reflect upon this transition period in our lives, to look at ourselves.
Last Blood’s portraits work in conjunction with an installation and ebook in the hope of encouraging a different narrative by introducing a new way of ‘looking’ at the menopause, for the community audience to review, reflect and consider this as a topic for the future generations of women in a therapeutic and informative way.
It was during these interviews and anonymous questionaires that I learned about the impact on women's mental health along with physical ailments . The research summarised this taboo topic as a "minefield" and that the main difficulty has been the 'invisibility' factor when attempting to discuss issues affecting them. The lack of training and knowledge to help women during this transitional period is scarce and although some help is there for those that can seek it out and/or desperate enough to pay for it in privately. However, for the vast majority of women this has led to a poor quality of life, in general this has led to devasting consequences and more suicides and leaving the workforce (due to a number of reasons associated with menopause) in this age group. More research needs to be done with GPs, to empower women with knowledge from the bottom up whereby we need to educate society. My drive is towards finding alternative health treatments/therapies to alleviate symptoms (including therapeutic and mindful photography) and utilise this to share our knowledge, as we are all different and still learning what works for women individually and collectively.
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