The Why
It is safe for me to be seen.
When I was eighteen, my seventeen-year-old friend came to stay with me in the city.
I did not know until later that she had undergone labiaplasty. Her boyfriend had made a shaming comment about her vulva. She was so embarrassed that she lied, saying she had gone to the dentist. That moment stayed with me. It planted a seed.
“Femessence” is the name I give this body of work, the vulva portraiture, an exploration of the deeper roots of femininity and its essence. Through the portal of the yoni, this series invites us into a space of acceptance and acknowledgement. It is safe to see yourself. The project began as an act of acceptance and celebration, a portrait of a dear friend’s body.
I was a child of the 1980s, raised in a world that felt disconnected, sterile and technocratic. This work is my response to that world, a return to the rooted, the reverent and the embodied. I want to honour the sacred crossings and passages.
It allows me to become the person I longed for in my own youth, someone to offer guidance and support.
These portraits are not simply representations. They are living embodiments of the feminine in all her tenderness, complexity and power.
Making art of your vulva may seem strange and intimate, however it can be immensely empowering to a lot of women. It provides a fun opportunity to address your body, accept it and learn that it is beautiful, normal, unique and to be celebrated.
Not many people understand what this work is for, but one thing is that it’s not just art. Did you know that a quarter of women have negative feelings towards their vulva? Or that 1 in 5 people aged 16-24 have considered cutting or bleaching their own vulva? Many women have never even looked at or seen their own vulva, or even another’s.
Unless you’re having sexual experiences with other women or work in the field, you’re probably not going to come into contact with anyone’s vulva but your own. Female rites of passage, menstruation and self pleasure is also framed with shame in many societies – so it’s not a surprise that there is a negative attitude towards any form of the female genitalia that doesn’t adhere to certain “standards” (whatever they are). Some women have said that they have also never even seen themselves, because it is not something they incidentally see every day (like a penis) unless they intentionally look at it; and then it is still through a mirror or photograph.
It takes work like this (of which there are many) and women to talk/look, to realise that vulvas come in infinite forms and they are all incredibly powerful, extraordinary and unique. Unfortunately the main source of sex-education for a lot of people is derived from pornography and not-updated medical text books, or feedback from sexual partners, which are not always accurate representations or reflections of the reality of the female anatomy – so what else are women comparing themselves to?
Your perception of yourself affects your experiences in life. Love yourself be confident with your looks, with your body, express your talents and allow yourself to be seen – authentically you. Clients have noticed an array of positive changes having committed to getting to know themselves deeper through this work.
Benefits Expressed and Reasons Why Women Get This Done:
- Radical self acceptance, empowerment, and radiate confidence
- Establish connection to body, increase bodily sensations and feelings
- Love your moon/ bleed and regulate your cycle
- Embrace feminine principles and essence, love being a woman
- Be closer to the authentic you and deepen relationships
- Further understanding of spiritual, emotional, physical experiences this creative centre holds; improve your health
- Attract abundance and unlock creativity
- Attract a partner
- Do what the f**k you want
Improve your perception of yourself by deepening or even starting a relationship with your yoni/ vulva. Empower yourself and connect with your body, look at yourself in a mirror, look at other vulvas, discuss with other women, scroll through my Instagram, get your yoni drawn, take a cast of your own vulva or do nothing at all. Love your body a little bit more, because it deserves it.