The art project and installation Maternity Project explores women's views of motherhood and family planning. Every menstruation cycle in a woman's childbearing years serves as reminder of her ability to bear children. For many women this ability is expressed in concerns about contraception. A day's delay in one's menstruation cycle could indicate the failure of contraception measures.

A woman has many choices: Plan for a family or not, now or later. Or she may chose a life without children. She may also change her mind in the course of her life. Other choices are made for her: Contraception could simply fail. She may want to get pregnant, but be unable to conceive. She may get raped and get pregnant because she could not protect herself. In many choices we are guided by tradition or by modern mindsets, and some decisions are made after in-depth soul searching. This project touches on all of these facets of maternity and infertility.

The installation includes the image of a woman of childbearing age and the dreamlike image of a newborn. A baby bassinet sits between the large, framed images. It is filled with comment cards in which women share their feelings toward maternity from their personal view.

The women were asked to consider the following questions: Are you planning to have children? If so, when? Do you already have children? Have you considered your options if you couldn't have children? What if you unexpectedly became pregnant?

Comment Cards | Press Release

<< | >>