'Body Language'

 

In October 2020, I was diagnosed with epilepsy and since then I face choices around my health and my body that affect my day-to-day life. One of the hardest choices I had to make was in 2021, when I discovered I was pregnant and had to terminate at 16 weeks gestation. I lost a baby boy, Azure, with whom I experienced a deep connection.

 

Loss and grief prompted a disconnect in communication between myself and my body. The new sensation of emptiness was overwhelming and I lost my body language in the mud.

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The grieving and healing process pushed me up against many characters, both internal and external: some of them are painted in this show. Painting about my experience is how I relearned the language of my body and connected with the part of myself that was hurting. Painting helped me to acknowledge all the facets of the journey and the range of emotions that are expressed within the works. In the early works, I was crawling, painting in heavy grief. As I look back, I now know I painted in love: my body’s language.

To my audience, I hope this work can offer peace to your grief and spark some joy when reflecting on the story of your own body and the choices you have made to honour it. I think that sharing stories can be a powerful way to open space for the healing of others, which is why I am honoured to be donating 10% sales proceeds to The Elephant Room Documentary series, a project that is capturing stigmatised lived experiences and making them beautiful, by Sofia Viegas.

 

I must paint, so I paint in honour of Azure, my baby, and anyone else who sees themselves in this story and the work.

 

Isobelle Blair