Toxic Shock is a small body of work developed through ProjectLAB by Arts Coast, Sunshine Coast Council. A professional development program focusing on developing individual artistic practices and contextualising work from concept through to presentation. Delivered over three months by industry professionals, through a series of intensives, individual consultations, a collaborative month-long residency opportunity.

Toxic Shock seeks to unveil the concealed experience of menstruators. This work challenges the stigma surrounding menstruation through installation, materiality, painting, comic strip imagery and text. Installed in a public bathroom, I aim to foster a conversation about the overlooked realities of this integral biological process: the menstrual cycle, the rag, the crimson wave, shark week, girl flu, aunty flow, the curse, period.

Drawing directly from the vibrant and accessible aesthetic of the 1950s cartoon style, this work uses the Pop delivery of Roy Lichtenstein, while embracing the spirit of Judy Chicago’s groundbreaking Menstrual Bathroom. Putting a humorous spin on the image of the damsel in distress, they are now positioned as frustrated by the persistent message that periods are a minor inconvenience that should be quietly managed.

Toxic Shock serves as a visual manifesto, challenging taboos, highlighting the visceral monthly realities of menstruators and inviting viewers to reconsider and dismantle the imperative of menstrual concealment.