The Slow Moon Climbs is a solo exhibition by Éadaoin Glynn exploring the midlife female body. Bringing together a series of new paintings, the exhibition considers this time of transformation as a threshold where new possibilities can emerge.

 

The exhibition takes its title from a book by Susan P. Mattern, which challenges the cultural assumptions that have diminished our understanding of post-menopausal women. Menopause directly affects around half the population, yet it remains culturally under-discussed, reflecting a broader history of the invisibility of ageing women. In art history, the female nude has often been framed through youth and beauty, leaving the midlife female body comparatively absent from visual culture. Glynn’s work responds to this through painting, bringing greater visibility to the lived experiences of women at this stage of life.

 

As part of her research, Glynn developed an anonymous online survey inviting women to describe their experiences of perimenopause and menopause through images or phrases. Responses included water-based language alongside images of transformation.

 

Glynn’s practice is reflective and process-led. Working with acrylic, she begins with the canvas laid flat on the floor, using her own body as a reference. She pours paint onto the surface, allowing it to bleed, pool and form marks as it dries. Forms emerge through a negotiation between control and instability, mirroring the changing body in transition. Painting becomes a space to express what language alone cannot articulate.

 

The Slow Moon Climbs reframes female midlife not as an ending, but as a period of transformation and possibility, while acknowledging the complexities of this profound change.

 

The exhibition is accompanied by a publication featuring contributions by Éadaoin Glynn and curator Kim Crowley, alongside a responsive text by Irish writer and critic Cristí­n Leach.