Cathartic Thread | Mila Figuet
“Cathartic Thread is an attempt to acknowledge and understand embodiments of feelings, pains and experiences of the female body. Rooted in the flesh and its insides, I chose my body as an exploration ground. The importance of physicality was especially relevant given our current situation: a shift to an almost fully virtual life, bereft of social ties, where touch is now a symbol of threat. This piece thereby symbolizes a pursuit for resilience from this new reality. For this, I worked on a homemade self-healing process, applied through a symbolic interpretation of certain ‘alternative’ medicines (i.e. acupuncture, chromatherapy and hand reflexology). I engaged in a durative performance through which I embroidered different layers of my skin. Here, physical pain was manipulated as a form of cathartis rather than a form of self harm. The piece was thought of through an activist lens as its technique became a way to reclaim agency and control over the body by being hyper connected to it.”
