Songs of Sanity

Myths about female presenting people exaggerating their pain, being neurotic, or even “hysterical“ persist to this day. Since ancient times, “the woman“ was considered imperfect and insufficient – because of their deviation from the male-defined body. As a result, the idea emerged that the female-read biology was determined by excessive emotions. This has a particularly serious effect on gynecological disorders and treatments, which for centuries have been mired in misunderstanding and shame, leading to speechlessness and the creation of harmful myths. In this work, seven people recount their experiences undergoing gynecological treatments. They report on power abuse, medical gaslighting, and feeling unheard. The exhibition challenges the hierarchies in medicine and draws attention to the need for a patient-centered and compassionate treatment. The photographs show places where the people telling their stories wanted to be photographed - once as an empty space, once as a setting for the respective portrait. It was important to me to give the protagonists as much autonomy as possible. Using a remote shutter release, they decided on the moment when the picture was taken. Like that, the camera becomes visible in the picture. The empty spaces, in turn, highlight the fact that any experience could have happened to any person. The interviews are not assigned to the images, creating a kind of fragmented archive.