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 – Carmen Lopez / Spain

Spinning reflections on the title of the competition.

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 – Taibe Palacios / Chile

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

Shining Despair – Maria Konschake / Belgium

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

Shining Despair – Katherine Hubble / Australia

Cultured pearls are created by implanting an irritant into an oyster.

Shining Despair – Laurel Fulton / USA

We experience the world in the only way we can, through and with our bodies.

Shining Despair – Marilyn Koch / USA

We Are A Colony is an uncanny …

Shining Despair – Iris Merkle / Germany

Vital functions are usually listened to with a stethoscope …

Shining Despair – Eunhee Cho / South Korea

I have experienced two trials in my life.

Shining Despair – Spam Glam / UK

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