I attended Photoville with the intention of viewing a different exhibit, but as I walked by the images below, I decided to focus on the exhibit of Eva Woolridge. The images I took do it absolutely no justice, so I went ahead and added the images from the Photoville website aswell.
I was first drawn in by the woman’s eyes. It felt powerful and at the same time made me feel sadness. I thought that the imagery was bold and beautiful. This exhibit is a visual narrative of Woolridge’s personal experience having dealt with a traumatic medical event. The images serve as a timeline from the beginning, middle, and end of her surgery. They’re each titled by the emotions she felt during the process.
The titles are as follows: denial, blinding pain, a thorn of micro-aggression, shock, surrender, the weight of trauma, inspection, reflection, acceptance, and empowerment.
I was initially taken back by the images but as I started to read, I was so intrigued by her openness to share with the world what she experienced while addressing the lack of knowledge available to Black women regarding their reproductive health. As a woman who deals with reproductive complications, I appreciated her exhibit and how normal it is to talk about things that are real and relevant. Given the current climate of the world, I found it extremely important to bring awareness to women’s health but more so, bring awareness to the lack of medical information and attentiveness towards Black women.
Woolridge experienced the removal of her right ovary, although she thought it could have been saved if doctors would have taken quicker actions after being diagnosed with a dermoid cyst. I personally experienced a traumatic event when I was told I needed a biopsy of my uterus without any additional information as to why it was necessary. The nurse assisting the doctor dropped the sample and the doctor had to do the biopsy twice, causing immense bleeding and discomfort. Following this appointment, it was nearly impossible to get my results back, because the clinic shut down a week or two after I was seen. I later found out that the clinic had been dealing with legal troubles regarding unethical practices.
Woolridge’s work is shedding light on the issue of medical negligence and female reproductive health. I think a lot of women can relate and sharing the information with other women and the world would only be beneficial.
