A Bloody Good Thing, an exhibition by Clara Planelles, 28th February – 28th March, Launch Thursday 5th March, FREE
A Bloody Good Thing is a striking body of photography and video work that explores menstruation and the many transformations a woman’s body undergoes across a lifetime. Bringing visibility to a subject still shaped by stigma and silence, the exhibition invites audiences to reconsider how menstruation is perceived, reframing it as a natural, powerful and life-affirming process.
At its heart, the work celebrates menstruation as a moment of renewal and regeneration, the beginning of a new cycle of growth. Featuring twelve real, unedited women, ranging from teenagers to women in their eighties, the exhibition honours bodies of all shapes, sizes, backgrounds and ethnicities. Fruits including grapefruit, pomegranate, plum and cherries are used symbolically to reflect the evolving stages of menstruation throughout life.
Inspired by Claire Baker’s 50 Things You Need to Know About Periods: Know Your Flow and Live in Sync with Your Cycle, which draws parallels between the menstrual cycle and the seasons, the artists also collaborated with a contemporary dancer to embody these cyclical shifts. The result is a visually rich and thoughtful exploration of menstruation as a dynamic, shared and deeply human experience.