The Main Box Office
Designed to resemble early motion picture devices, like the Mutoscope or Kinetoscope, The Main Box Office offers a glimpse into the world of Joyce’s uterus.
In early 2017, Joyce was diagnosed with endometrial cancer, which had developed from her various breast cancer treatments. When Joyce asked how this was possible, her doctors told her that they had not considered the risk because “no one had expected you to live this long.” Joyce had a hysterectomy in February of that year, and it is this event that the Main Box Office depicts.
The Main Box Office is a custom-crafted device that requires the viewer to bend down and look through a speculum to see inside the box. Revisiting the idea that discussing the topic of cancer makes folks uncomfortable, Joyce wanted to force the viewer into an uncomfortable position to engage with the subject matter.
The interior is crafted to resemble a theatre that takes on an organic, rather than classically contrived, design. Joyce’s cancer is represented by multicolored balls that cling to the Box’s fleshy walls in an undulating pattern. A large tube – a stand-in for the vacuum used in the hysterectomy – stabs in from one of the walls and attacks the cancer.
The exterior of the Main Box Office has been done up in the rich colors and details of the era. A pattern of over 1,700 pairs of “tits”, inspired by Charlotte Winter’s print, adorns the base and a sign invites one and all to peer into Joyce’s uterus.
Contributing Artist: Melissa Holritz
Materials: String lights, nylon stockings, deflated balloons, plastic beads
Never lacking a love for art, storytelling and visual design, Melissa Holritz’s varied path has led her to a career in the film industry. Hailing from an artistic and musical family, Melissa studied fashion design before spending nearly twenty years as a visual merchandiser while discovering her passion for building sets for various local film and theater productions. She currently resides in Orange County, California.
Website: mholritz.myportfolio.com/