Introducing Our New Visual Art Gallery (aka the VAG)

We're celebrating self-love this Valentines Day with the launch of The Visual Art Gallery (VAG) by Origin. The new online gallery highlights female-identifying artists whose work inspires us to connect with and care for our bodies.

At Origin, our pelvic floor PTs see firsthand how women can, in response to a multitude of factors, become disconnected from the center of their bodies — to the point where sexual pleasure seems beyond reach and pelvic pain and other symptoms are minimized or ignored.

This disconnection and normalization of pain contributes to a hidden health burden that’s seldom talked about. Research shows that more than 40 million U.S. women suffer from symptoms of pelvic floor dysfunction every year, yet most never receive medical treatment.

We believe that body-centered, empowering art can help shift the way we think and feel about our bodies, creating new possibilities for reconnection and healing.

“The healing journey is non-linear, as is the path toward a deeper mind-body connection. It’s often messy, challenging, and awakening.” says Carine Carmy, Cofounder and CEO of Origin. “This project highlights the beauty of this journey through visual arts, and the therapeutic relief that comes in knowing you’re not alone. We also aim to spotlight how art can provoke questions that create shifts in the way we see ourselves and our bodies.”

Creating a softer space in the often sterile world of healthcare has been part of Origin’s ethos from the outset. From the mural by Allison Kunath inside our flagship clinic in LA, to the Buckley painting on the cover of the Origin Magazine, to the many artists we've highlighted on instagram, art is central to our feel-good mission.

The incredibly talented artists featured as we launch:

• Autumn Breon, an LA-based multimedia artist whose work Care Machine invites us to imagine radically accessible self-care.
• Madeline Scrace, aka Madge, a NYC-based filmmaker and creator of MASHED, a 6-part episodic film about her struggle with vaginismus that holds nothing back.
• Effie Emmanouilidi, an Athens-based multimedia artist whose project I AM A VULVA amplifies the voice of the most vulnerable part of our bodies.
• Mikel Ibarra, an Oklahoma-based artist, teacher, and former professional baker creates vulva-shaped Pies in the Window that serve up a fresh take on objectification.
• Lillian Isabella, a NYC-based playwright whose latest production Primordial shares birthing stories, ranging from ecstatic to devastating.
• Riley Hooper, a Brooklyn-based documentary filmmaker uses footage from her life combined with dance to tell her own story of healing from vestibulodynia in Vestibule.

We'll continue to highlight artists throughout the year. Know someone whose body-centered work gives you feel-good vibes? Head over to Instagram and DM us their info (or email us at hello@theoriginway.com). We'd love to feature to invite them into the VAG.