Untitled (pumping)
The breastpump, first patented in 1854, presents knotty potentials, both liberating and limiting. Its presence allows for the disentanglement of body and milk, which can simultaneously empower choice and obligate postpartum bodies back into the labor force with the assumption that all spectrums of society can balance the demands of paid work and care work. Programmed to the rhythm of the artist’s breast pump, the volume circulating represents a week’s worth of milk pumped in the workplace.
Medium:
Food grade tubing, liquid pump, air pump, solenoid valve, microcontroller, synthetic milk
Dimensions:
Pump: 5" x 5" x 7" Coil: 13" x 13" x 7"
Special thanks to:
Technical consultants: William Liu, Julian Goldman
Exhibitions:
Ecologies of Care (solo show) at Cuchifritos Gallery + Project Space
Designing Motherhood: Things That Make and Break Our Births at MassArt Art Museum (MAAM)
Year:
2022
Related press:
NYTimes: What to See in N.Y.C. Galleries Right Now
Art in America: Ani Liu at Cuchifritos Gallery + Project Space
Artnet News: Artist Ani Liu Has Some Radical Suggestions for What Pregnancy Could Look Like. It Begins With Artificial Wombs
The Brooklyn Rail: Art Seen, Ani Liu: Ecologies of Care
Science Friday: Processing Postpartum With AI And Synthetic Breast Milk Art
BOMB Magazine: Embodied Knowledge: Ani Liu Interviewed by Hallie McNeill
Hyperallergic: Your Concise New York Art Guide for June 2022