Jane Hoodless - Changing Room

About

Changing Room is a new body of work by Jane Hoodless, that addresses some of the history and hysteria surrounding menopause, and includes beautifully crafted wall-hangings, ceramics, textiles and sculpture. The exhibition is a personal interpretation of a universal condition, conceived to shed light on the potent mix of anthropology, folklore, medical science, and nature’s laws that have defined the subject.

A certain contender for the last taboo, menopause is an unsolved evolutionary puzzle that remains poorly understood. Our comprehension of it depends who is doing the talking, the language they are using, the audience, the time, place and context.

In contrast to commencing menstruation or becoming pregnant, women tend not to discuss menopause and are often poorly prepared for it. Experiences, symptoms and sensations vary so widely that they may be described very differently (if at all), and are therefore almost impossible to measure or gauge. One woman’s experience is not necessarily that of another, and many embark on their menopause in ignorance or isolation.

Works included in Changing Room include a series of embroidered wall-hangings inspired by historical texts and references, ceramic sculptures such as Post-Fertility Icon (pictured top left bottom), and decorated fans featuring images of whales (the only other mammals apart from humans that are recorded as going through the menopause).