{"id":35278,"date":"2025-02-11T23:21:02","date_gmt":"2025-02-11T23:21:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cardiffstudentmedia.co.uk\/quench\/?p=35278"},"modified":"2025-02-11T23:44:12","modified_gmt":"2025-02-11T23:44:12","slug":"unwanted-flesh-art-illness-and-the-female-body","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cardiffstudentmedia.co.uk\/quench\/culture\/unwanted-flesh-art-illness-and-the-female-body\/","title":{"rendered":"Unwanted Flesh: Art, Illness, and the Female Body"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In Conversation with Delphi Campbell<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As International Women\u2019s Day approaches, we reflect on the voices and stories that shape the discourse on gender, health and identity. One such powerful voice is Delphi Campbell, the artist behind Unwanted Flesh<\/em>, a deeply personal body of work that explores chronic illness, medical misogyny and the lived experience of a female body in pain. Through an intimate conversation, we delve into the artistic journey that brought her exhibition to life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Delphi Campbell, a multi-disciplinary artist based in Cardiff, specialises in soft sculpture and sewn objects. At nineteen, Delphi relocated to Cardiff and graduated with a First Class degree in Fine Art from Cardiff Metropolitan University. In 2022, Delphi earned her MFA in Fine Art from the Ruskin School of Art at Oxford University, and subsequently undertook a fellowship with the British Council among other achievements. Delphi’s practice explores self-portraiture through pink, fleshy and soft mediums, using her art to delve into personal experiences and themes related to the body.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Delphi, the decision to translate her medical journey into an artistic form was both organic and necessary. \u201cWhen I started Uni (studying Fine Art at Cardiff Met), I began receiving diagnoses for some of my conditions. As I settled into my practice, making work about being sick was a natural progression \u2013 it became a healing process.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the most striking elements of Unwanted Flesh<\/em> is its exploration of medically induced menopause, an experience rarely discussed in mainstream conversations about health. \u201cMenopause is a strange experience, especially when induced medically at a young age. My body changed in ways I\u2019m still adapting to. I began building Unwanted Flesh<\/em> the same week I started menopause, so it became a natural extension of my endometriosis journey<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Delphi\u2019s work serves a dual purpose: self-expression and representation. \u201cI\u2019d still make the work even if no one saw it, but it\u2019s great when they do. It\u2019s hard to vocalise some feelings, and so much of the disabled experience remains unseen. I wanted to share both the good and bad.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The themes of identity, embodiment and illness are deeply intertwined in her work. \u201cMy illnesses have shaped my body, personality and life experience in fundamental ways. They are part of who I am, and my practice is about exploring and sharing that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A post shared by Delphi Campbell Artist (@delphicampbell)<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/blockquote>