Erin O'Neill
Visual Artist
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These ink paintings were created as part of the Cyclature collaboration along with other creatives tracking their menstrual cycles through intuitive art making. My birth control prevents regular menstruation symptoms so instead I followed the moon cycles, an ancient way for women across cultures to track their menstrual cycles. Despite the disconnection to my symptoms, noticeable patterns still emerged across my paintings.
Each painting was made intuitively. I used blue ink in reference to the commercial presentation of menstruation that sterilizes people's perceptions of the experience from a young age, regardless of gender. While I don’t expect a tampon commercial to lead these conversations through their visuals, our lack of public discourse about the reality of menstruation means it is sometimes the only representation we see in our culture.
The use of napkins was also intentional as a reference to the term “sanitary napkins”, which is language that furthers our commercialized and cultural commitment to disassociate from any honest representation of menstruation. Napkins were also what was traditionally used to absorb blood before the contemporary invention of menstrual products. I have chosen to hang these ink paintings using clothespins like laundry on a line hung out to dry.
ARTIST BIO
Erin Elizabeth O’Neill (b. 1983, St. Louis Missouri) lives and works in Chicago. ONeill received her BFA from the Kansas City Art Institute in 2008 for Painting and Drawing. Her work reflects a deep love of figurative symbolist art.
O’Neill began working in watercolor at the age of 17, in 2000. While she formally trained in oil painting during her academic years, she returned to watercolor and ballpoint pen after her child's birth due to their accessibility and low toxicity.
After becoming a mother, O’Neill's work became a way for her to understand herself postpartum. She started with small manageable studies she could do on her couch or while riding the bus to work. Eventually, her images evolved into a more extensive series of paintings that addressed the shift in personal identity postpartum. Her current work focuses on grief work, the female experience, and connecting with her maternal lineage.
Her paintings and watercolors have been exhibited in notable galleries such as the ARC Gallery (Chicago, IL), Dallas Metro Arts Contemporary (Dallas, TX), The St. Louis Artist Guild (St. Louis, MO). Pikchur Magazine and Harbor Review are some of the publications that have featured her work. ONeill received an honorable mention at the Watercolor 2020 Juried Exhibition at the Norris Cultural Center (St. Charles, IL).
