Since the inception of Western medicine, women’s bodies have been mistreated and objectified, shaped more by myths and gender biases than by facts. This dates back to Hippocrates, who coined the term “hysteria,” derived from the Greek word hustera (ὑστέρα), meaning womb.
Hysteria, or the “wandering uterus” syndrome, was believed to cause emotional volatility and “strange behavior” in women who were not pregnant, suggesting that avoiding their “biological duty” of childbearing would make their bodies rebel. The focus on reproduction over pleasure has persisted, with parts of the female body only being comprehensively mapped two decades ago.
The three artists featured in this exhibition, who won the Young Visual Artist Award in their countries—Alma Gačanin (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Glorija Lizde (Croatia), and Agrina Vllasaliu (Kosovo)—explore how patriarchal capitalism and the medical-industrial complex have categorized female bodies and the reproductive system, deeming some bodies and organs as more functional and valuable than others.
Together, the works in Hustera explore the historical and ongoing objectification and control of female bodies based on cultural norms. While in ancient Greek and Roman medical theory it was believed that women have two “mouths”— one for speech and one for sexual activity — with societal decorum dictating that both should remain closed, silent, and untouched, all three artists offer strategies for overcoming this systemic silencing and imposed norms, either through erasure, rewriting, or reimagining.