This infopoetry is an exploration of English terms to refer to the menstruation phenomena; the aim is to shed some light on the use of expressions. The reader will appreciate the incredible creativity of the spoken language while reflecting on how a taboo is sometimes hidden in plain sight.
Link to website
Metaphor used:
The infopoetry is presented as a small book (A6), similar to a dictionary, where the dataset is reported on semi-transparent pages, layering up according to the ‘distance’ of the categories from the original scientific term ‘menstruation’. The expressions belonging to the category considered the furthest from the definition are bigger and of a lighter shade of red, to facilitate the reader. The closer he moves toward the end, the readability decreases because of size and colour, becoming smaller and redder; a red independent paper facilitates the effect, constituting a layer useful to read and understand. On the last page, the definition of menstruation is practically unreadable, even when not covered by all the other layers.
Intended Meaning:
The artwork aims to shed some light on the use of words, expressions and metaphors, that acquires here a double meaning. On one side the reader can appreciate the incredible creativity of the spoken language, in his beautiful shapeshifting and adaptability (a sort of meta-discussion on metaphors and their nature), while on the other he can reflect on how far the language can go in hiding a simple everyday topic, related to female anatomy, and how a taboo is hidden in plain sight, with the linguistic discrimination that brings along.
Source:
http://www.mum.org/
