Three Weeks Calendar, 2024 - 2026
Digital print of i-Phone photos
11” x 8.5”
How does one measure time through the cycle of the body? Every three weeks I give myself an injection of Adalimumab, Hyrimoz brand. I have a charged relationship with this medication: it alleviates inflammation AND it demolishes my immune system.
Also, I truly don’t like needles. They make my skin crawl. So even if I know injection Monday will bring relief from red, swollen joints, I dread it and subconsciously procrastinate. Maybe I can wait another day or two? Perhaps today I am just too tired to deal with it.
During one of the Conversations About Care in 2024, one of the participants gifted us a thought: “The ritual of taking medicine.” If taking medicine is a ritual, not just an obligation, then there is space for creativity. I can cherish the relief this medication brings me and process the pain.
But a ritual needs a dedicated space to be performed, a space of care. So I started collecting objects to create ready-made altars in my kitchen, where the medication sits for 15 minutes while getting to ambient temperature before being ready for injection. These objects bring me comfort: some are seasonal gifts from the garden; some are little thoughtful presents from friends - a thread of “good” thick yarn, a little flower holder from Korea, a jar of hand-harvested maple syrup. Some are marked moments in the process of creating work for this exhibition; some objects were intentionally collected for the purpose of appearing in these altars; some contain the words that feed me and mentor me in building a life long relationship with illness and healing.
