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Lisa
Nigro
Artist
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Mixed
Media Installation 1994/2004
Austin, TX / San Francisco, CA
8’
x 8’ x 2’
steel trough, water, black ink, latex, staples
An
expression of my fears and feelings concerning breast cancer and my
aunt’s mastectomy — I was working with performance artist
Linda Montano when I conceived this piece. Linda had been pressing me
to confront death, the aging process, and other life issues, so I began
investigating my feelings surrounding a favorite aunt’s bought
with cancer and final loss of one breast. My aunt’s displaying
of her wound and her freedom in discussing her mastectomy, intrigued
and horrified me. I was simultaneously struck by the fragility of the
human body and by the possibility that this could happen to me. My aunt
described her wound as a deformity and explained to me that she was
fortunate because “many men leave their wives after they have this
type of operation,” and her husband had no intentions of leaving
her. I was amazed by the strength she projected, yet I knew she was
burying an incredible amount of pain deep within her bosom.
The isolated breast and the stapled spaces between symbolize an attempt
to seal shut the wound. The waters are indicative of the human body
being made up of mostly water, and its inability to survive without
it. The blackness is introduced as a contradiction to this fact, and
an indication of the presence of the disease-causing cancer. Black,
being the absorption of all colors, suggests denseness. The darkness
serves as a reminder of the studies that ascertain contaminated drinking
water and pesticides are the two major causes of breast cancer among
women. Once again, the water works in a contradictory manner; its calm
and quiet presence also represents a wish to alleviate and sooth the
pain attributed to this type of loss.
While looking at FeedHer, the viewer has no way out; a circle has enclosed
the objects. Some of the breasts appear to be drowning; others seem
to be in search of the other missing half. For many people, the loss
of a breast is equated with the loss of femininity. Pressures and attitudes
from popular culture and mass media make it clear that a woman could
not possibly be a whole and sexual being if she is lacking a mammary
gland, and it is presumed that a woman with two different size breasts
would naturally be categorized as “freak.” Woman is victim,
and she has no other choice but to deal with the situation.
I was influenced, to some degree, by the work of video-installation
artist Mary Lucier in which she drew parallels between scarification
of the land and scarification of the body. One of her most impressive
videos used the scars caused by drawing rubber from rubber trees in
contrast with scars caused by breast cancer and the breast reconstruction
process. This particular video helped me to understand why my aunt had
chosen not to go through breast reconstruction.
I contemplated making a direct political reference to the cancer issue
by providing statistics as a wall piece in conjunction with FeedHer,
but decided against it so as to maintain visual purity. For fear of
sounding preachy, I opted to leave room for varying interpretations.
Evidently, FeedHer is not just a reaction to my aunt’s painful
experience; it is a serious projection of my own fears related to breast
cancer. Facts being, cancer is on the rise and so too are global governments,
administrations, and corporations who have no vested interest in preventing
further pollution of the environment or our water supply, hence, no
interest in protecting the health and existence of humanity.
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