As I turned 50, my self-image as a female began to change with the changes in my body. As I was approaching menopause, it interested me to understand why there was such a negative approach to female purity in my religion. I began to explore the Judaic practice of Niddah, the separation of women during menstruation. According to Jewish law, a man is forbidden to maintain sexual relations with his wife during and after her menses. Anything she touches is impure and can cause impurity to others. Marital intimacy resumes only after she has undergone ritual immersion (mikva) at which point she is pure.
In this Project, I focus on the male view of menstruants, as well as the female experience of menstruation, especially under Talmudic dictates. Through painting, printmaking, embroidery, drawing and sculpture, I attempt to visualize a theme that is taboo. One side of the room is male and the other is female. In the center is a “purifier” whereby a clear pipe will have tinted water in it, which will be “purified” to clear water (mikva). This project has aspects of cultural education as well as the universality of all women’s and men’s experience in regards to a natural life cycle event.
Gabriella Boros 9720 Kedvale Ave Skokie, IL 847.568.0991 gtboros@yahoo.com
As I turned 50, my self-image as a female began to change with the changes in my body. As I was approaching menopause, it interested me to understand why there was such a negative approach to female purity in my religion. I began to explore the Judaic practice of Niddah, the separation of women during menstruation. According to Jewish law, a man is forbidden to maintain sexual relations with his wife during and after her menses. Anything she touches is impure and can cause impurity to others. Marital intimacy resumes only after she has undergone ritual immersion (mikva) at which point she is pure.
In this Project, I focus on the male view of menstruants, as well as the female experience of menstruation, especially under Talmudic dictates. Through painting, printmaking, embroidery, drawing and sculpture, I attempt to visualize a theme that is taboo. One side of the room is male and the other is female. In the center is a “purifier” whereby a clear pipe will have tinted water in it, which will be “purified” to clear water (mikva). This project has aspects of cultural education as well as the universality of all women’s and men’s experience in regards to a natural life cycle event.
Gabriella Boros 9720 Kedvale Ave Skokie, IL 847.568.0991 gtboros@yahoo.com