Catrin Osborne: A Portrait of the Menopause - (Paperback)

About the Book

A Portrait of the Menopause presents 80 photographic portraits and accompanying interviews from a cross section of women who are experiencing or have experienced the menopause. Aiming to dispel the misconceptions and stigma that surround the subject, the book is inspired by creator Catrin Osborne's own experiences, research and touring exhibition.

Book Synopsis

A Portrait of the Menopause presents a collection of photographs of women who are experiencing or have experienced the menopause, along with their related stories, insights and recollections. In doing so, it aims to dispel the misconceptions and stigma that surround this significant but rarely discussed chapter in a woman's life.

Inspired by the difficult experiences of the book's creator, Catrin Osborne, and her desire to connect and share with others, the publication was born out of Osbourne's initial efforts to research and explore the subject with others and the subsequent touring exhibition of her photography.

The book addresses the question "what does the menopause look like?" with a series of 80 photographic portraits and accompanying interviews from as wide a cross section of participants as possible. Each subject was photographed in their "happy place" and asked to talk about the positives and negatives of their menopause experience - a journey that has, for so long, been hidden and deemed shameful by many - in the hope of cultivating a greater understanding of what others face or have already been through.

About the Author

Catrin Osborne has worked in the performing and visual arts for 25 years. She has a degree in Social Sciences and an MA in Performance Design and Practise from Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design.

In 2012, after being selected to be Director in Residence at Circus Space, she founded Osborne & What, adapting the novel Birdy by William Wharton combining circus with music theatre and movement. More recently, inspired by her own difficult experiences, she made an exhibition of photography and interviews entitled This is What the Menopause Looks Like - both works toured the UK.

Recently she has returned to performance and studying sewing at Kent Adult Education has informed her piece Home Is Where The He(Art) Is, which combines film, textiles and dance.