On Mass Hysteria

A Proto-language of Protest

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.34024/f5qfn483

Keywords:

Artist’s book, Mass hysteria, Feminism, Misogyny

Abstract

The artist’s book On Mass Hysteria: A Proto-Language of Protest (2024), by Laia Abril, investigates mass psychogenic crises as an unconscious, collective language of protest against systems of oppression and transgenerational trauma. Part of the A History of Misogyny project, the book uses historical documentation and three contemporary case studies (Mexico, Cambodia, and the USA), detailing alleged hysteria outbreaks in groups of women and girls who share strict control environments, such as boarding schools and factories. Through collected interviews and testimonies, Abril highlights that socioeconomic factors, neglect, and social pressure act as triggers for the physical manifestation of suffering. By focusing on contexts of social and political oppression, the work redirects the narrative, criticizing the tendency to blame the victims, arguing that ‘hysteria’ is, in fact, the expression of a collective illness.

Author Biography

  • Gabriela Traple Wieczorek, PPGAV - UFRGS

    Doutoranda em História, Teoria e Crítica de Arte pelo Programa de Pós-Graduação em Artes Visuais da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, possuindo título de mestre em Artes Visuais pela mesma instituição com a dissertação Nos Queremos Vivas: arte contemporânea sobre feminicídio no Brasil e no México. Atualmente, pesquisa as intersecções entre arte, feminismos e práticas sociais. 

References

Abril, L. (2018). On abortion: And the repercussions of lack of access. Dewi Lewis Publishing.

Abril, L. (2022). On rape: And institutional failure. Dewi Lewis Publishing.

Abril, L. (2024). On mass hysteria: A proto-language of protest. Dewi Lewis Publishing.

Cixous, H. (2022). O riso da Medusa (N. Guerellus & R. F. Bastos, Trads.). Bazar do Tempo.

Dane, G. (1994). Hysteria as feminist protest: Dora, Cixous, Acker. Women’s Studies: An Inter-disciplinary Journal, 23(3), 231–255.

Hunter, D. (1983). Hysteria, psychoanalysis, and feminism: The case of Anna O. Feminist Studies, 9(3), 464–488.

Lippard, L. (1985). The artist’s book goes public. In J. Lyons (Ed.), Artists’ books: A critical anthology and sourcebook (pp. 45–48). Visual Studies Workshop Press.

Princenthal, N. (2019). Unspeakable acts: Women, art, and sexual violence in the 1970s. Thames & Hudson.

Silveira, P. (2008). A página violada: Da ternura à injúria na construção do livro de artista (2ª ed.). Editora da UFRGS.

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Published

2026-01-13

Issue

Vol. 7 No. 2 (2025): Art History and Historiography: Current Issues and Future Horizons

Section

Publications Reviews

License

Copyright (c) 2026 Gabriela Traple Wieczorek

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How to Cite

Traple Wieczorek, G. (2026). On Mass Hysteria: A Proto-language of Protest. Imagem: Revista De História Da Arte, 7(2), 411-419. https://doi.org/10.34024/f5qfn483