Menos Pausa

In Menos Pausa, I seek to recognize my body, which has been inhabited by Menopause for 4 years.

A process of natural transformation, with physical and psychological ups and downs, but which is usually laden with taboos resulting from a patriarchal capitalist view of the female body. A look that treats our body as a territory that should fulfill only decorative and reproductive functions. In this context I share my concerns about this devaluation of women who reach menopause, and my personal perspective about this process that most women will inevitably go through.

According to data released by the WHO (World Health Organization), by 2030, there will be one billion women going through menopause. The first signs of menopause can be noticed from the age of 40, in the so-called climacteric period, the months or years before menopause itself, which is the last menstrual cycle. The phase between climacteric, pre-menopause, and post-menopause can last from 10 to 30 years. In other words, one third of a woman's life might be lived within this process.

During my research, I also began to interview other women. I was confronted with various experiences and was impressed by the fact that it is indeed a delicate subject in most cultures. How can we go through this process while deconstructing this colonizing perspective?

In my essay, I compose frames that highlight the voids, emphasizing sensations, and bring textures that highlight the organic nature of things, alluding to the skin. I also use blur, light and shadow to emphasize this search for understanding an unknown territory. I propose a contrast between clear and dark, vibrant and subdued images in reference to the highs and lows of the process, and I use closed frames in allusion to the project's intimate nature.

The images have in common a first person point of view. Reflections on the journey within this new universe that we must transit naturally and as we wish, despite all and any taboos still so present today.