Endomorphosis is part of Metamorphosis, our ongoing research and development project in which we’ve been studying this global art form, from its ancient roots, to modern cultural form, to how body painting can be an empowering tool to boost well-being.
One Saturday in March 2023 a group of incredible women got together for an amazing experience to celebrate their bodies. After a callout for another group of women to take part in Endomorphosis, a second wonderful cohort was formed. What was even more special is that they were painted by some of the women who were painted in our very first project.
We will be sharing more about this project, stories, and ways to use art as a vehicle to inspire change. We will be updating more from our 2023 cohort and below you can read more about our 2022 group and the ongoing project.
We created this project to celebrate our bodies as well as acknowledge and raise awareness of this condition which affects 1 in 10 women, and those assigned female at birth in the UK.
“I wanted to see my body in a different light and almost celebrate and thank it for everything it has got me through rather than pick at it and put it down. Bodies are AMAZING, and mine has got me through so so much.”
WHAT IS ENDOMETRIOSIS?
Endometriosis (pronounced en- doh – mee – tree – oh – sis) is the name given to the condition where cells similar to the ones in the lining of the womb (uterus) are found elsewhere in the body.
Each month these cells react in the same way to those in the womb, building up and then breaking down and bleeding. Unlike the cells in the womb that leave the body as a period, this blood has no way to escape.
In the UK, around 1.5 million women and those assigned female at birth are currently living with the condition, regardless of race or ethnicity. Endometriosis can affect you from puberty to menopause, although the impact may be felt for life.
– Endometriosis UK.
If you have been affected by Endometriosis and would like to get support or read more about this condition, we have put together a series of links and resources here on our support page:
We have found that art is the perfect tool to raise awareness, to be a catalyst for social change, and to support individuals’ own holistic well-being.
Through this project we:
> Brought women together. Forming friendships and building support networks so that participants are better able to live with Endometriosis in the future.
> Created beautiful art. Teaching people creative skills and boosting participants’ self-confidence.
> Raised awareness of Endometriosis to help women secure earlier diagnoses. We used art as a means to capture people’s attention. We then shared information about Endometriosis online and in person, with our local community, with healthcare professionals and with women with Endometriosis and those exploring a diagnosis.
WHY ENDOMETRIOSIS?
Endometriosis affects 10% of women from puberty to menopause, 1.5 million in the UK, and 176 million globally.
95% report Endometriosis impacting their well-being negatively or very negatively.
The average time for diagnosis is 8 years, despite 58% of women presenting with symptoms to their GP ten or more times, 53% at A&E, and 21% seeing doctors in hospital 10 or more times.
Source: All Party Parliamentary Group report on Endometriosis 2020
“Your whole body goes through so much and for me it led to negative thoughts and feelings about my body that became detrimental to my mental health and well-being.
Endometriosis is a whole-body disease, both physically and mentally, so I wanted to create a project which represented that. By delivering this project myself as an artist and painting a group of women who have been on a similar journey and seeing them transform was even more powerful than I could have imagined”
– Emily Wood (Artistic Director)
ENDOMETRIOSIS IS NOT AN INFECTION
ENDOMETRIOSIS IS NOT CONTAGIOUS
ENDOMETRIOSIS IS NOT CANCER
This project is funded by: