Beauty in Blood: An Art Exhibit Created with Menstrual Blood

Visual artist Jen Lewis creates works of art using blood collected in her menstrual cup during her period, as seen in these beautiful and striking images.

“Before Denver-based artist Jen Lewis began using the menstrual cup, an eco-friendly alternative to tampons and sanitary napkins, she hadn’t given much thought to the pictorial potential of the blood that appeared in her toilet each month. In 2012, she gingerly switched to the cup on the advice of her doctor, surprised to discover that when she discarded the collected fluid, it formed swirling shapes, both abstract and figurative, against the alabaster bowl. In collaboration with her husband Rob, Lewis embarked on what would become Beauty in Blood, a project devoted to subverting the stigma and shame that surrounds societal perceptions of menstrual blood.”