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Conceptions Artist's Statement |
This show revolves around the experience of women attempting to conceive, conceiving, and bearing children. Its theme is the diverse interpretations of these experiences, and how concepts of maternity conflict with reality. I've used humour, compassion and homely decoration as access points into this complex dialectic. On the eighteen tables in the gallery lie the personal journals of seventeen women. They have written about the birth or loss of a child. Some have recorded their thoughts during their daily lives with young children, or their feelings before, during, or in the absence of pregnancy. Their words are honest and uncensored. Language, image and societal codes are spelled out in these pages, as each woman comprehends her own experience. The constructions and paintings address the theme of multiple viewpoints and the way fiction impinges on fact. Each section has been created as a place where fantasy and reality can meet. Disjunctive objects are joined: a C-section scalpel on an embroidered baby blanket, a breast~shield surrounded by beadwork. Common (but toxic) artist's pigments, household cleaners and beauty lotions have been put in baby bottles. A wall studded with obstetrical instruments is interspersed with handmade nursing devices, then veiled in bridal lace. Healthy latex and noxious PVC pacifiers are sewn to a comforting quilt. There is a painting of a uterus surrounded by flowers, another of a speculum held up like a bouquet. Conceptions touches on a variety of topical issues, (such as sterility, abortion, environmental poisons, home-birth and medical intervention) but it refuses these agendas. It has been created to reveal conflicts and give voice to the unspoken. It is pluralistic and permeable. An empty journal lies open on a table, to be written in. |