THE CYCLE DIARIES
This work explores the idea of the Beyond within Us. As a woman who has experienced the cycles of menstruation for almost two decades, I was intrigued to see the world that forms, falls apart, and recollects itself during every cycle. The photographs show gynaecological pap smears, taken during one menstrual cycle. They translate visually the change that can be felt within.
The environment photographed is the Döderlein flora: the healthy micro flora of a woman of childbearing age (i.e. not during pregnancy, whilst breastfeeding or after menopause). The colourful structures are the epithelium: cells that form a protective layer, thus protecting us from our surroundings, defining our borders. They consist of the nucleus which carries the DNA, and the cytoplasm, the semi-fluid substance of a cell that is external to the nuclear membrane. The free-floating blue points are the leucocytes, white blood cells, involved in protecting the body.
The images, numbered according to the day of the menstrual cycle, are testament to the ever-changing processes within us, that might be felt, but are beyond our visual reach. Life moving beneath, frozen in time.
