Bloodletting

The topic I explored throughout this project was the idea of wanting to remove part of oneself, whether that be a memory, a habit like addiction, or anything else that someone may want to rid themselves of. By using medical leeches, I am representing a part of ourselves that we feel sucks the life out of us. Something that makes our lives harder and weighs us down. For me this part of myself is an addiction, something that started out as a casual thing but steadily started to become something I relied on to cope with. The leeches are something that has latched onto us whether we know it or not and are steadily dragging us down, affecting who we are as people.

 The function of leeches in medical history also plays a part in this project conceptually. Bloodletting was and still is a typical procedure done with medical leeches in order to prevent and treat illnesses. People believed that all disease stemmed from imbalances in the body's “humors”, The first of which being blood. It was thought that if the infected blood was removed the person would get better. Although leeches do have medical uses in present time (They inject anticoagulants to prevent blood clotting when they bite) the common practice of bloodletting has been medically disproved leaving only a handful of people to still practice it today. Using these ideas I explore the symbolism of the leech as a healer but also as a bloodsucking parasite.
The background images which feature more peaceful and serene subject matter are meant to be in contrast to the images of leeches. The places pictured in the background are typical locations one might go to calm down. Part of the problem with things like trauma or addiction is that sometimes people don't realize how much it affects them. In other words they aren't aware of the leeches that they carry around day to day. The purpose of the backgrounds is to put the idea of the leeches into perspective. To show a way to betterment instead of continuing to suffer.
↑Back to Top