Femicist

I assumed the role of an underground “femicist” (pharmacist x feminist). I replaced H. Jackson Brown’s instructions from The Complete Life's Little Instruction Book with my own prescriptions, accompanied by placebo capsules filled with floral matter. The pill bottle labels feature original disclaimers—some witty, some serious—responding to the original “doctor’s” patriarchal orders.

I begin to make floral arrangements, specifically in context of female funerals. I research mourning and memorialization customs across cultures.
I collect inanimate objects commonly found in female life: tampon, pill bottle, jewelry box, and undergarment. I assemble a dried rose to each.
I’m drawn to the contrast of the contemporary pill bottle and traditional rose. I create prototypes and incorporate H. Jackson Brown’s “life instructions” on pharmacy labels.
I refurbish a medicine cabinet to store the bottles, spray painting it entirely black. The cabinet has a mirrored interior and is crowned with an overgrown floral arrangement.

2024. Dried flowers, glass, metal, paper, plastic, silk, and stone. 23 x 6 x 30 in

Prescription suggesting the struggle of mortality

The Complete Life's Little Instruction Book

Pill labels with "little instructions" and original disclaimers

Prescriptions suggesting vanity. Bottles with floral filled pill capsules

Supporting pieces inside medicine cabinet

In-progress medicine cabinet inside spray paint booth

Pill capsules containing ground, dried floral matter

H. Jackson Brown, The Complete Life’s Little Instruction Book (1991)
Photos courtesy of Tom Wood, Women (2013)