Rosse rosse

Rosse rosse—the Italian absolute superlative for "very red"—is an invitation to visually explore menstrual blood. While blood is a pervasive element in our shared visual imagination, its depiction in relation to the menstrual cycle remains veiled by a strict sense of modesty and visual trepidation. In many cultures, menstruation is often regarded as a source of shame and disgust, with social perceptions heavily shaped by an androcentric lens. By harnessing the physical properties of this organic fluid—its texture, viscosity, sheen, and flamboyant color—across scenes of everyday life and dreamlike spaces, the artist seeks to subvert and question its negative connotations. She invites us to view this blood with an impartial eye, reshaping our subjective perception and challenging preconceived notions. Depicting skin-to-skin contact with this blood—an experience shared by millions on a regular basis—emerges as a necessary and unsettling gesture that transcends gender and convention. Rather than seeking the beauty or power of the menstrual phenomenon, the visual experimentation behind Rosse rosse focuses on the observation of the fluid’s consistency and its nuances of color; these "very red" images, though softly captured, carry the bitter aftertaste of the violence and physical pain inherent in the complexity of a body that bleeds inevitably. The series reveals this uncontrollable blood as it flows, stains, and permeates the textures of fabric and skin, as well as the lives of the bodies from which it pours. By choosing to work with menstrual blood, the artist employs a medium that is at once intimate, organic, and underrepresented, despite its ubiquity. The vibrant red of the photographs draws and confounds the eye, creating a tension between attraction, curiosity, and repulsion.