Introduction

In this exhibition, we examine the mutually influential relationship between emotional and physical states through the lenses of biology, comparative literature, and history. Focusing on representations of fertility and motherhood, we examine the cycle of suffering and joy that they generate, which points to a notion of the usefulness of female suffering. In these pieces, we identify this cycle in allegories of rotating seasons and the death and resurrection of Christ, centering on the literary and visual histories of Persephone and the Virgin Mary.