Nether Space(s): Unveiling endometriosis experiences in performance

Abstract

Endometriosis is a debilitating and incurable disease impacting one in ten women (including individuals assigned female at birth). Stirred by my battle with this disease, I devoted my doctoral research to exploring lived body experiences of endo in and through an embodied, improvisational painscape practice. This discussion hones in on the later stages of research development and eventual public presentation of Nether Space(s): a performance/exhibition marrying movement, kinaesthetic painting and embodied poetry into a cohesive painscape. Although Nether Space(s) exposes the often concealed or invisible suffering related to gendered disabilities like endometriosis, the negotiations with time, space, energy and expression likely resonate with individuals who endure various kinds of menstrual, reproductive or chronic pain. In disseminating the research journey, this article demonstrates how engaging with the physical, emotional, psychological and spiritual scars of unfathomable pain experiences implicitly necessitates the integration of interdisciplinary methodologies and critical perspectives. Specifically, I pinpoint how an artistic practice shaped and birthed from endo experiences champions improvisational prowess, feminist inquiry and crip identity. The shared imagery, poetry and personal accounts of the various creative outcomes associated with Nether Space(s), further reveal that an improvisational feminist-crip performance practice can facilitate embodied agency by cripping endo pain. Notably, idiosyncratic attributes of Nether Space(s), some of which include scar symbolism; alternative spatialities, temporalities or energies; or convergences of narrative and abstract, are unpacked through the lens of netherness – an original construct that emerged as a pivotal revelation of the research journey.