Untitled (woman pains)

A garment that simulates labor pain. This garment is part of a series that allows persons of any gender to experience the biological symptoms of pregnancy, to cultivate both empathy and potential new ways of embodied understanding.

An investigation of the ways consumer culture problematizes pregnancy, this garment is part of a set of ritual devices and consumable products related to pregnancy. Centered around experiences typically considered “inconvenient”, these speculative products investigate our cultural relationship to pregnancy as mediated by artefacts, with a focus on cosmetic aids such as anti-stretch mark creams, anti-darkening serums, belly hiding corsets, belly masks, mood regulators, etc.

I wrote an article for this piece for Biodesigned, which can be read here.

medium
silk, nylon, silicone, boning from a corset, elastic from lingerie, electrodes

dimensions
43 cm x 33 cm x 15.24 cm
17” x 13” x 6” inches

year
2019

installation series
The Consumerist Pregnancy Reports TM

exhibitions
MU Hybrid Arthouse
Festival of the Impossible, by Adobe

technical collaborators
Randi Shandroski

photo credit
Hanneke Wetzer

tags
biopolitics, pregnancy, simulation, feminism, technoscience