Words by Éloïse Armary

Last month was Breast Cancer Awareness Month, but it’s never too late to talk about boobies!

Lydia Reeves is a female body casting artist based in Brighton. She started her work by casting vulvas for a project called ‘my vulva and I’, for which she created an exhibition, a book, a podcast and a documentary – only that! For Breast Cancer Awareness Month, she cast breasts and launched an exhibition called ‘Feelin’ yourself’, in partnership with Coppa Feel, a breast cancer charity. She aims to celebrate the diversity of bodies and emphasizes on being inclusive of everyone’s body shape, race and gender identity. For The Badger, Lydia gave an insight on her path as an artist and on her ‘Feelin’ Yourself’ exhibition that happened in mid-October. 

What made you want to study Fine Arts in the first place? 

Art has always been my passion since I was a kid. I’ve explored and vented a lot of my angst through art so I’ve always had a close and intense relationship with it. So studying it at University felt like a natural progression for me. 

How did you come to casting people’s body parts? 

I had a lesson on my Foundation course about how to cast hands. That’s the first time I learnt about body casting. I went home and using the skills I’d learnt I obviously tried to cast my own vulva! I dabbled with casting throughout my degree but only really got into it properly 2.5 years ago when I thought it could be something that could really help people start to celebrate themselves.

How do you technically cast the body parts – vulva or breasts? 

Vulva casting is the easier one of the two. You apply a goop-like material that picks up all the skin texture, and that will give you an impression of the vulva. From here I pour a very durable plaster into the mould, to reveal the positive vulva cast. I’ve made it sound very straightforward here, there are a lot of tips n tricks which allow for a successful vulva cast! 

What kind of feedback do the participants give you before and after being cast? How does it change their relationship to their body? 

I’ve had such positive feedback, which is all I ever dreamed of with it. A lot of people have said that owning their cast had really improved their relationship with their vulva or their boobs. Having the cast as a beautiful piece of artwork in their homes, which they look at every day, detached from the body, I think can really help people get used to seeing their body and embracing it just as it is.

What is your relationship with your body? Does your art change your relationship with your body in any way? 

My relationship with my body is probably the best it’s ever been. I’ve had a very turbulent relationship with it since I was pre-teens, but finally it feels a lot calmer. Art helps with everything I think! For me, my own work has helped me see my body differently, as surrounding my everyday life with other’s art and how they interpret a similar journey with bodies (their own or other people’s) really helps me assess my own thoughts and feelings.

Do you consider yourself an activist? what do you think is the potential of art for social change? 

Hmm an activist. I’ve never thought of myself as one really, but I suppose maybe I am? I really try to challenge people’s ways of thinking, for the better. And open people’s eyes a lot more. Art has its own power because it can get people talking a lot more about really important topics, without those people even really knowing they’re adding their voices to an important conversation – Because they’re just looking and talking about a piece of art. Whereas in fact, it is so much more than that. I believe that great art makes you feel something. And if enough people get touched by a piece of artwork – that can definitely be a part of social change.

Tell me about an artist who inspires you.

A Latvian artist called Jana Brike – her work doesn’t particularly correlate with mine but I’m so in love with it I must take some inspiration from her paintings! Her work is beautiful, I find myself getting lost in her paintings. But yet there’s something about them that makes you think a lot deeper than what you see from a quick glance of the surface. As I said before, to me, great art makes you feel something – and all of her work certainly does that for me. 

What did you expect from the exhibition? What are you looking forward to in the future?

The exhibition was everything I hoped for and more. There were so many people talking about how different our boobs are, and about the importance of checking your boobs – I just loved it. I feel like this is just the beginning and I really hope I can continue to get people talking about these important topics!

What did you expect from the exhibition? What are you looking forward to in the future?

The exhibition was everything I hoped for and more. There were so many people talking about how different our boobs are, and about the importance of checking your boobs – I just loved it. I feel like this is just the beginning and I really hope I can continue to get people talking about these important topics!

It is so important in October to be aware of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, was your exhibition taking place a conscious effort?

Of course. Ever since my mum got breast cancer 9 years ago I’ve tried to be as active as possible by raising money for charities and raising awareness of checking your boobs, and breast cancer in general. For a while now I’ve wanted to do something big to raise lots of awareness – and I really hope my exhibition did that.

Although the exhibition is over, Lydia sells casts for donations to Coppa Feel. She also keeps casting body parts so don’t hesitate to get involved! And be sure to watch and listen to the free ‘My Vulva and I’ documentary and podcast. Lydia’s art has a range of flavours to suit any palette.

Where to see Lydia’s work:

https://www.lydiareeves.com

My Vulva and I book, documentary and podcast

Instagram : @lydiareeves_artist

Categories: Artist Focus Arts

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