CRISTIN MILLETT

An extension of my research includes “sacred anatomy,” the pre-16th century practice of dismembering cadavers, particularly nobility and saints, in order to disperse the remains/relics for widespread worship. St. Agatha was martyred after rejecting the advances of a Roman official and her breasts were cut off as part of her torture. She is often depicted carrying her amputated breasts on a platter. Similarities in the form of the severed breasts with bells and buns led to her attribution as the patron saint of bell-founders, bakers, and more recently, breast cancer survivors. It is my intention to provoke contemplation on how we perceive, stereotype, and stigmatize the female body and question the history that molded the controversy surrounding reproduction.