Eveline Plazier, Noortje Molenaar, Philine Dekkers, Vera Hijlkema
Dysmenorrhea is the medical term for painful menstruation, affecting up to 90% of menstruating people. Yet the standard response to a bad period day is often to carry on as normal: a performance of being "fine". This gap between lived experience and what is visible is not accidental, as menstrual pain is often minimised, both socially and medically, leaving many without validation or adequate support. Endometriosis, for example, is a condition causing severely painful periods that affects at least 1 in 10 women - yet takes 7 - 10 years to diagnose on average. It’s Actually Not That Bad aims to make this hidden reality of menstruation visible.
Are you on your period or something?
The installation is built around a black wooden box with two coloured plexiglass windows. Through the blue panel, positioned at eye level, visitors see a composed, "normal" image. Through the smaller red panel, at a deliberately awkward angle that requires bending or adjusting, the same scene reveals a completely different reality. This optical effect - based on anaglyph colour filtering - mirrors the contrast between the performance of being fine and what is actually going on beneath the surface.
On the outside of the box, painted text presents medical facts about menstruation and period pain. But most important is the participation: visitors are invited to write their own experience, association, or reaction directly onto the installation with a red marker. Over the course of the exhibition, it becomes a growing record of individual voices - sometimes even responding to each other - making the private reality of menstruation publicly visible.
It Is Actually Not That Bad requires no explanation. Visitors can discover the optical illusion themselves, which tends to spark genuine surprise - and naturally opens space for conversation. During the initial exhibition, people spontaneously shared personal experiences, with some noting it was the first time they had spoken openly about the topic. The installation is also contextually flexible: placed in a GP clinic or hospital, it could be paired with information on conditions like endometriosis or PCOS to increase awareness and early recognition. The experience lands most strongly for people with a personal connection to the topic; for others, reading what strangers have written is often enough to spark reflection.