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“Bitter Water” depicts a bouquet of medicinal botanicals that have been used as abortifacients (def.: (chiefly of a drug) causing abortion) by various cultures throughout history. The bouquet comprises of Black Hellebore, Ergot on Rye, Pennyroyal, Cotton Root, and Tansy. The title “Bitter Water” is a reference to the “Ordeal of the Bitter Water” found in the Hebrew Bible. Some interpretations of the story posit that the “bitter water” potion was meant to terminate a pregnancy as a woman’s punishment for committing adultery, but in this instance, the title serves as a reminder of where we’ve been at various points in the distant and recent past, and as an offer of reclamation of bodily autonomy, empowerment, and hope.
“Bitter Water” depicts a bouquet of medicinal botanicals that have been used as abortifacients (def.: (chiefly of a drug) causing abortion) by various cultures throughout history. The bouquet comprises of Black Hellebore, Ergot on Rye, Pennyroyal, Cotton Root, and Tansy. The title “Bitter Water” is a reference to the “Ordeal of the Bitter Water” found in the Hebrew Bible. Some interpretations of the story posit that the “bitter water” potion was meant to terminate a pregnancy as a woman’s punishment for committing adultery, but in this instance, the title serves as a reminder of where we’ve been at various points in the distant and recent past, and as an offer of reclamation of bodily autonomy, empowerment, and hope.