ARTISTS and writers from across Fife, the central belt and Edinburgh have collaborated on an innovative exhibition at the Dunfermline Carnegie Library and Galleries.
'Bodyworks' explores the feelings which women have about the marks on their bodies through a number of mediums including paintings, fabric sculptures, manipulated mannequins, constructed textiles, artists’ books and poems.
Artists, Lesley Ratomska and Linda Menzies from Dunfermline, Caroline McGonigal from Dalgety Bay, Carol Mason from Dunblane and Isabell Buenz from Edinburgh worked with a number of groups for the project.
Lesley, exhibition artist and curator, said: “The idea started over a conversation with a friend about the tattoos on her body used for radiotherapy treatment for breast cancer.
"We wanted to discover how other women perceived the marks on their bodies, everything from birthmarks and scars to deliberate changes like tattoos and piercings, and how these marks impacted on their self-image and confidence.
“Many of the women we spoke with talked of conflicted feelings about the marks on their bodies.
"For example, Caesarean scars are a lasting reminder of the happy events of having babies.
"The discussions widened to include other body changes brought about by accidents, ageing and other life events.”
To explore this theme they engaged with women from CRUSE Bereavement Services, Fife Women’s Tent, YMCA Edinburgh and The Bethany Christian Trust.
Comments from women taking part included: “I’ve always felt hopeless in life. My scars made me feel happy because I then had my kids and they brought joy to my life. I live with my scars and I can’t let them rule me.”
Another said: “I like my curves, they show the journey I’ve been on. I like my tattoos, they remind me of special people and places. I don’t like the fact that most of my clothes don’t fit!”
And one commented: “I have facial scars and a broken tooth where, when drunk, I fell on a railing; a scar on my breast which saved my life…a damaged tooth from a punch…a foot scar I got at work…”
The exhibition is available to view in The Community Gallery of the Dunfermline Carnegie Library and Galleries until the end of December.
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