Woman Puts Five Years of Menstrual Blood on Display at 'Art Show'
A Chilean artist is being called "filthy," "disgusting," "blessed," and "unique," for sharing an extremely intimate part of her life with complete strangers: Five years worth of her own menstrual blood.
Carina Úbeda Chacana, a recent art school grad from Valparaíso, unveiled her latest exhibition, "Cloths," at the Center of Culture and Health in Quillota late last week.
The installation consists of 90 used sanitary rags that Úbeda has amassed over the last five years, each embroidered with words like "discard" and "destroyed."
"I can not wear pads because they trigger an allergic reaction," Úbeda told Soy Chile.
The artist explained that she had been saving the soiled cloths in a cushion, thinking one day she'll get around to "do[ing] something with it."
Asked what the hell, Úbeda said she wanted to "mix art with something personal," adding that she had no qualms about sharing something this intimate because to her, "it is simply a work of art made by me."
It's worth noting that each cloth is sprayed with a disinfectant, eliminating all odors.
That, however, hasn't stopped patrons from trying to sniff the art, according to gallery manager Fritz Demuth.
"But the smell just does not exist, [the cloths] are not filthy," he said.
