The blood of women. Traces of red on white cloth

LaStellina ArteContemporanea is pleased to present at the “Casa Internazionale delle Donne” in Rome the exhibition “The blood of women. Traces of red on white cloth”. The starting point of this exhibition  are cloth sanitary pads used to absorb menstrual blood until the early Sixties found by Manuela De Leonardis in the market of the Olympic Village, in Rome. These linen rectangles of 49x47 cm approx. - white or ivory – were never used or washed and were stored amongst the household linens: they have frayed edges on the two longer sides. These objects belonged to anonymous women.  Some are initialed (FI, SV, A, AT, AV) predominantly embroidered with red thread. Fourteen international artists: Alessandra Baldoni, Rita Boini, Giovanna Caimmi, Maïmouna Guerresi, Susan Harbage Page, Silvia Levenson, Anja Luithle, Patrizia Molinari, Elly Nagaoka, Sonya Orfalian, Ivana Spinelli, Paola Romoli Venturi, Virginia Ryan, Ketty Tagliatti are involved to investigate various aspects of female: birth, puberty, menopause, violence, femicide. Each artist will be given a cloth menstrual pad which may be work with, in full creative freedom, producing an artwork.  Blood is a recurring theme in contemporary art,  along with other bodily fluids such as tears, sweat, urine, saliva, and semen. But while male blood represents courage, female blood denotes shame, even more if it is menstrual blood.  The blood of women - traces of red on white cloth aims to celebrate an event which originates from the beginning of time,  and aims  to transform any trace of scorn toward the female body into enthusiasm and vitality. The exhibition is accompanied by a publication with essays and statements by the curators, the artists, the psychoanalyst Alberto Massarelli and a poem by Tomaso Binga. Sunday, November 8th a “Red Brunch” will be served beginning at 11:00 am

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