In Conversation: Marissa Carnesky and Poppy Jackson. In: The Phenomenology of Blood in Performance Art

This conversation between Marisa Carnesky and Poppy Jackson explores the role of blood—particularly menstrual blood—in performance art as a site of ritual, resistance, and feminist intervention. Both artists examine the cultural, political, and symbolic dimensions of blood, challenging menstrual taboos and reimagining bleeding bodies as powerful agents of transformation. Rooted in eco-feminism, ritual practice, and queer performance traditions, their dialogue highlights how blood operates as both material and metaphor in the articulation of gendered experience, trauma, and agency.
Carnesky discusses Dr Carnesky’s Incredible Bleeding Woman (2016), a theatrical and ritual performance that reclaims menstrual blood as a source of power, storytelling, and collective action. Inspired by Jewish menstrual taboos and horror film aesthetics, she contrasts her staged blood bath ritual—which symbolically opposes the Jewish Mikvah purification bath—with live menstrual performances by her collaborators, including acts of sword-swallowing, clowning, and bodily endurance. Carnesky’s work extends into activist performance, forming The Menstronauts, a collective that stages menstrual-themed protests supporting reproductive rights and ecological movements.
Jackson’s work similarly foregrounds blood as a medium of artistic and political expression, with performances like Television Lounge (2014) and Constellation (2015–16) using menstrual blood to challenge institutionalized shame and control over menstruating bodies. In Television Lounge, she stood motionless for seven hours in a former police station lounge, allowing her menstrual blood to visibly stain the carpet—confronting both performance art’s history with blood and broader societal policing of menstruation. Constellation expanded this engagement into collective ritual, incorporating donated menstrual blood from multiple participants to symbolize matrilineal bonds, shared ancestry, and the sacredness of menstruation.
Both artists reflect on how performing with blood reshaped their personal relationships to menstruation, moving from internalized stigma to radical acceptance and empowerment. They explore how audiences engage with these performances, from intimate encounters to hostile reactions, revealing the enduring tension between menstrual activism and deeply ingrained cultural taboos. Through their discussion, they assert that menstrual blood is not merely biological but profoundly political, carrying revolutionary potential for feminist, queer, and eco-activist movements.