Shining DESPAIR
Holland Houdek
USA

Neckpiece « Hysteroscopy », 2023
Copper, crystals, patina, 406x89x6.35mm
Hand-fabrication, stone setting
Photo : Grant Taylor

Neckpiece « Oophorectomy », 2023
Copper, crystals, patina, 390x110x10mm
Hand fabrication, stone setting
Photo : Grant Taylor

Words fail in the face of miscarriage. Our thoughts, like our bodies, betray us. Grief, isolation, shame, blame, and other unnamable feelings cloud one’s ability to articulate the pain of this harrowing yet all-to-common natural event. Against the inadequacy of language and the silences that surround this taboo subject, I turned to the process of making to confront this unnamable loss and to help shift my and other people’s perceptions of miscarriage and pregnancy loss. The pieces in this series helped me to un-make and re-make that deep and embodied pain into something transformative. They call attention to the need to find personal ways to cope, persevere, and make sense of life in the face of loss, while reminding women and people with uteruses who have had similar experiences that they are not alone.

More « Shining DESPAIR »

Shining Despair – Marta Alonso / Spain

Mayfly, an ephemeral flight and Glimpse the universe …

Shining Despair – Sanna Svedestedt / Sweden

The Dropped Ice Cream brooches offer a surreal take on the iconic moment …

Shining Despair – Marilyn Koch / USA

We Are A Colony is an uncanny …

Shining Despair – Spam Glam / UK

Extreme changes in my life have caused me so much anguish …

Shining Despair – Maria Konschake / Belgium

« Prägung » is part of the series « About Space and Identity » …

Shining Despair – Taibe Palacios / Chile

Take away the veil of darkness, let us light a fire and we will sit around.

Shining Despair – Eliane-Catrie Blouin Achim / Canada

With the Rose Cochon series, Éliane-Catrie Blouin Achim expresses a profound sense of despair.

Shining Despair – Wiebke Pandikow / Finland

Biodegradable plastic bags have been reworked into a basket-like object …

Shining Despair – Misha McLean / Scotland

‘Repeat Prescription: 14mg’ embodies the quiet despair felt by those who rely on medication in order to sustain a healthy life.

Shining Despair – Ute van der Plaats / Belgium

When the relentless madness of this world is clouding my heart, I take a walk in the woods …