This Is My Story by Joanna Johansson

I have never perceived my menstrual blood as something obscene or disgusting, but learned that other woman do. It intrigued me and made me sad to realize that actually many women feel aversion towards it.

The first time I heard about making a self portrait with menstrual blood to reconnect with one´s own femininity was from Alejandro Jodorowsky, the idea amazed me because I like to paint and have always feel grateful for the miracle of life that manifest thru feminine cycles.

I made a self-portrait and was surprised by the powerful healing process, the texture and shininess.  So clean, pure and sacred.

I thought it is an amazing technique. Then I rushed excited to paint a portrait of a friend. Happy to start a to use a technique that is not so common and that also has a healing power, wanted to recommend it to all my female acquaintances, friends, my sister and mother. The pride of displaying these works of art turned into a shame after seeing reactions from the viewers that put faces of surprise and disgust some also suggested I should not say they made of blood, some said they where disgusted by their own blood and they could not even touch it.

Those paintings were not something to be proud of but something to hide or avoid explaining what was made of. Later on, when I made my art portfolio I was not sure to add them in it, maybe it was ok to add them if I describe them as mixed media.

-Will this make me look like a strange person? Will it devalue my art?

-What is this thing about being afraid or disgust towards one of the something so natural and beautiful?

Joanna Johansson, 41, Mexico