Page 14 - SMCK Magazine - Issue #01

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J E W E L“L E R Y A R T I N A U S T R A L I A
LR: In Thank You Big Pharma!—se- lected for Schmuck Sonderschau 2019—you used contraceptive pill packages as jewellery material. How did Big Pharma change the female body and destiny?
LMC: The contraceptive pill gave women the freedom to manage their menstrual cycles, control fa- mily planning, prevent unwanted pregnancy. It did, in essence, pro- vide the idea of emancipation. Ho- wever, the pill, and the hormones it contains, can mess with some bo- dies, causing side effects. Why has the responsibility of contraception conveniently fallen into the hands of women, and men are excused?
Laila Marie Costa
(aka RUN LMC), artist, curator, and co-director of TempContemp Gallery,* Melbourne on emancipa- tion, indie perseverance and THE Schmuck
* along with Anna Gray
LR: Why is menopause (still) a taboo even among women?
LMC: Peri/menopause and/or The Change is not very sexy and rarely spoken about.
Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) is big money, and from the point of view of drug companies al- lows women to seamlessly move from one product—birth control— to the other. Menopause is such a mysterious issue, both in society and the medical field. In my world, people really don’t want to discuss it. On the up side, the packaging of HRT is a source of inspiration.
UNDERFUNDED, ” UNDERAPPRECIATED,
NOT WIDELY UNDERSTOOD. SURVIVAL IS NOT EASY
Photo: Bryony Jackson
Interview by Loukia Richards