Untitled
2015
Modified photograph, framed pigment print
80cm x 80cm
Turku Art Museum Collection
As part of the series that deals with the myth of hysteria, the image represents the ambivalence of the female hysteria epidemic of the 19th century.
Hysteria was an illness concept consisting of misdiagnosed illnesses mainly affecting women. It was also a way to silence and oppress women who didn’t conform to the conservative gender roles of the 1800s.
It is said that hysteria was the illness of the “new woman”, the woman who wanted to take part in the changing new world, but who wasn’t allowed to. In the image the light from a window breaks the face in the painting. It can be seen as sign of a broken mind. However the smile on her face hints that she could also be experiencing the enlightenment.