Laia Abril, ANGER, Mind Series (Case 2, Cambodia, On Mass Hysteria), 2023, Courtesy Galerie Les filles du calvaire, Paris © Laia Abril

Le Bal invites Catalan artist-researcher Laia Abril (Barcelona 1986) to present the latest chapter of her long-term project on The History of Misogyny: On Mass Hysteria.  Following on from On Abortion in 2016 and On Rape in 2020, this chapter continues her ongoing work on the systemic control of women’s bodies across centuries.

In On Mass Hysteria, Laia Abril offers a visual interpretation of the various explanations that have been used to describe what has long been labeled “collective hysteria.” These phenomena primarily affect communities of young girls and women who are tightly bonded, and who face extreme stress or oppression, manifesting collective symptoms with no physiological cause: fainting, tremors, uncontrollable laughter, trance-like states…

In the installation at LE BAL, Abril, staying true to her research method, develops three specific case studies, discussed with anthropologists, sociologists, neurologists, and psychiatrists to understand the origins of these crises:

• Case study 1, 2007 | Chalco, Mexico, Epidemic of leg paralysis in a Catholic girls’ boarding school
• Case study 2, 2012–2022 | Cambodia, Epidemic of fainting among workers in garment factories
• Case study 3, 2012 | Le Roy, New York, USA, Epidemic of tics in a high school

For each case, Laia Abril gives voice to the women affected by these symptoms, sharing evocative images of their experiences and narratives, while revisiting the responses of the press and authorities.

To find out more please go to the direct link.