This work was created by Jess Bull Anderson for Mia Serracino‘s piece, ‘Five Period Songs’, which was performed at Southbank Centre Purcell Room recently with Daniel Pioro - the stimulus for the artwork was ‘a day on your period’. Jess found the process of developing and creating this painting incredibly rewarding and healing, in multiple ways.

 

"Five years ago, if I was asked to create a painting about ‘a day on your period’, the work have been filled with pain and frustration and helplessness, a period which many people would empathise with. But for me now, ‘a day on my period’ is the same as any other day; due to receiving the right healthcare and treatment for me, - ‘a day on my period’ is now a very positive and carefree day!

 

I feel very passionate about breaking down taboos and stigmas around women’s health, so that women can make informed decisions about their own bodies and feel empowered in those choices. I strongly believe that it is so important to not only break these taboos and talk about them, but to address them too. To know that there are solutions, to know that ‘Nothing Is Permanent’.

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This work, ‘Nothing Is Permanent’, is my reflection on embracing positive change and on enriching each moment, day by day. On moving forwards in new directions filled with hope; and although being connected to a past, not being weighed down by it and instead being grounded by your experiences. 

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‘Nothing is Permanent’ was painted over an old painting of mine which had painful memories connected to it. When I was painting the old painting, I had memory loss and I didn’t even know the names of different colours. I tried for months to finish the painting, but it never felt right, so I ended up hiding it away for a year. I thought I never wanted to look at the piece again. But as I was developing my concept for ‘Nothing is Permanent’, I suddenly knew what to do with the old canvas. Now that I have recovered from my memory loss and I'm at a new start and new perspective in life, it felt so right to me to paint over this old canvas, and reflecting on creating a shift from negative to positive experience while painting this work was incredibly liberating and healing for me."

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The piece ‘Nothing Is Permanent’ is a representation of the transformative power of art and how it can heal and empower us. By sharing her personal experience, Jess Bull Anderson hopes to inspire others to embrace change and turn negative experiences into positive ones. The artwork represents an important message of breaking down taboos and empowering women to make informed decisions about their health, while also embracing the impermanence of life and finding hope in new beginnings.