International Women’s Day – There is science in art
Today is International Women’s Day. It’s a chance to think about women who inspire us and have influenced our lives and the lives of others in some way. I tend to think that we are all inspirational in some way and for that reason I think about female friends, my mother, my sister – all wonderful women doing important things.
Today especially, and in recent times of COVID I am drawn to one of the most important women in my life, Frida Kahlo. Frida was an artist but had plans to be a scientist.
Aged 15 years, Frida Kahlo was accepted to the prestigious Escuela Nacional Preparatoria, after which her plan was to study medicine. But shortly after turning 18 she had an horrific accident that brought her dreams of becoming a doctor, to an end. Kahlo lived with infectious disease, injury, disability, chronic pain, miscarriage, and the effects of some 30 separate operations. Kahlo is well known for self-portraits or drawings that told stories of herself. Familiar photographs show her in her typical colourful Mexican dresses with flowers in her hair.
Frida Kahlo is inspirational, not because of her continuous struggle with illness, but because of her resilience and determination. She was an incredible revolutionary and feminist. I visited her Blue House when in Mexico on a work trip. This is where she was born in 1907 and where she died in 1954. It is the most inspirational and exciting place to visit. To get a glimpse of the life of an incredible woman was a life changing experience for me.