A bronze leporine lies on a stainless-steel surgical table, with porcelain aloe vera plants spilling out of its inside, spreading and migrating across the table and room. Bullo explains that in mythology, the leporine symbolises the woman, and the operating table represents a sacrificial altar. The position of the female on the steel plinth denotes women’s struggles against femicide, gender violence, and desertion - she lies limp and abandoned.
Bullo included Sertraline, an antidepressant, and aloe vera extract in her choice of materials, neither evidently visible. Their hiddenness draws attention to the unseen pain, experience and woman who paid dearly for the imbalances in her life. Despite the sense of utter desolation conveyed by the subject, the materials suggest otherwise. The hare is made in bronze, a durable and resistant metal, which suggests a sense of strength, along with the contrasts between the colours silver, white, and bronze, capturing an ethereal beauty.
Image: Cecilia Bullo, I was once a Liminal Daughter, 2021, bronze, stainless steel, porcelain, hardware, sertraline & aloe vera extract, medical shunts, dimensions variable.
Courtesy of Cecilia Bullo, Aoife Herrity (photography), Bleach Those Tongues: Dystopian Assemblages, Hillsboro Fine Art, Dublin, IRL and Renée Pfister Art & Gallery Consultancy.
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