Wet&Sexy
Mind Map I Ideas I Archive
Should I have kids?
In this exercise, I decided to approach the brief on the future of reproduction from a personal point of view.
I asked friends and family members if they think I should start a family. As part of our conversations, many questions arise regarding pregnancy and giving birth, reasons for making this choice, money issues, the climate crisis, the complex life in Israel, Jewish tradition, complexity and politics of having children as a gay man and more.
Fence-sitters Club
If it exists on Reddit it exists also outside of Reddit. I decided to form the IRL “fence sitters club”. In order to get into the club you must get a tattoo and share why you consider yourself a fence sitter. The club has gatherings, barbecues and some merch, and can help you feel like you are not alone with your doubts. Parents are welcome, as long as they are still questioning their decision, or are talking freely about the things they regret regarding their choice.
"Child-bearing is often described as a gift, but I’m unsure about this dynamic of giving and receiving life. The climate crisis is not an appropriate gift for a child. On the inverse, I struggle with the idea that a child is a gift (given by whom?) by default. Who benefits and how? There answer is unknowable".
"I'm very afraid of pregnancy and giving birth, I feel like having a family is such a big decision, how will I ever feel certain enough to make such a big choice? Unlike other decisions in life it isn't reversible and I do not wan't my future children to feel like I have many regrets having them."
"I would say for me I’m getting married quite young, relatively to the age someone averagely gets married nowadays and I want to be able to grow my career and passions more before having children because it changes a lot in terms of priorities and time. There’s still some issues that I want to work through before I have children, so that they grow up with the most healthy relationship with me as possible."
"Child-bearing is often described as a gift, but I’m unsure about this dynamic of giving and receiving life. The climate crisis is not an appropriate gift for a child. On the inverse, I struggle with the idea that a child is a gift (given by whom?) by default. Who benefits and how? There answer is unknowable".
Menstrual cycle tracking calendar
This object was made following an article in the Guardian “Why US women deleting their period tracking apps?”.
This article covers privacy issues with menstrual cycle tracking apps in the US after Roe vs Wade was overturned.
“Many American women in recent days have deleted period tracking apps from their cellphones, amid fears the data collected by the apps could be used against them in future criminal cases in states where abortion has become illegal.”
The cycle tracking calendar provides an “analog” data collection that visualizes a year of menstrations. Every bleeding day is marked by folding in down, then the red color is revealed.
History of art moms
Perceptions of parenting and family structure have changed a lot since some of this art was made. However, the theme of parenting has always been a central theme in art, with the image of the mother and the child (who was born from the image of Mary and Jesus) being the most famous of all. But do we have a way of knowing anything about these mothers? How was motherhood for them? What difficulties did they face? Were they happy, or did they suffer from problems that today we are more aware of such as postpartum depression or difficulty getting used to motherhood?
Since we cannot understand these women in depth, I chose to use our most futuristic tool (which currently does not give any profound results) to try and understand what I can from the little information we do have about them - their faces frozen in time
I asked Reddit if I should have kids
In order to find a community that might sympathise with me, and perhaps also to find an answer to my question, I turned to the internet, and there I found the group known as ״fence sitters״ on Reddit which deals with questions around having children. Using a sentiment analysis tool, I checked which word combinations people repeat the most, and are they in a positive or negative context. The results are quite amusing since the algorithm is also written in a rather superficial way and therefore are a bit one-dimensional. However, I feel they are similar issues that came up in the interviews I held in Brief #1.
Pregnancy test
This speculative pregnancy test is inspired by ancient fertility goddesses. Many mythologies have icons representing fertility, motherhood, and the creation of life. The design is inspired by wheat, which is a symbol for fertility in many mythologies and cultures, also in judaism.
Taking a pregnancy test is a moment of hope - either you want to be pregnant or not. In this sense this design touches both scenarios and serves as a kind of prayer to the goddesses of fertility. The object changes from the moment of the test to the moment of the result and develops crystals that originate from the ammonia in the urine, creating a beautiful fettish object. In a situation where you don't want to be pregnant and take this test at a gas station, or in the bathroom at your parents' house, the test turns the stressful wait into a beautiful moment. And if you are interested in pregnancy, you have a souvenir or a winning photo for social media.
How many children am I
going to have?
As kids we often used to speculate about our future selves as parents. This object is recreating a childhood game we used to play in nature. Using a plant that can stick to clothes (goosegrass/ wild oat) we would throw a handful of leaves at each other, and the amount of leaves that stuck to our shirts represented how many kids we were going to have. I find it interesting that as children there is some playfulness and anticipation with the idea of being parents, something that tends to fade the closer we get to the point of decision. I feel like this game could revive some of the playfulness that we have as children while imagining our futures.
The 750£ shop
Women and their bodies have been always commoditized, In a culture where everything has a price tag I compared the financial value of a human egg with other products, in order to get a deeper understanding of this “currency”.
The average sum that human egg donors receive is 750£. If you ever considered donating one of your eggs this is some of the thing you can use your 750£ for:
Urban Outfitters Couch / Lenovo Laptop / Prada Sunglass / expensive whisky / two Celine hats / Gucci bag / two Ninja ovens / Chanel boots / two way flight tickets / six Italian designer lamps / rare Snickers / two puffy jackets / three Apple watches / twenty two sperm units / a bathtub / Prada bag / two big tents / three flat screen TV's / a certified Russell terrier / two magimix blenders / three armchairs / a branded car wheel / a car engine / Versace pink heels / a microscope / ten funny bunny vibrators / three toilets / two pairs of bicycle / a 3D printer / a love seat / two blood units / four pairs of UGGs / twelve HP printers / thirteen electric kettles / three washing machines / an industrial vacuum / a hand made guitar / an AC / one thousand and forty broccolis / a fridge /
a piano/ fifteen hair dryers / seventy five grams of weed / four blowup sex dolls / three le crouset pots / two-hundred fifty Hoogarden beers.
Golem
Speculative Wombs
How does the duality of the terms "Labour" and "Reproduction" manifest in the context of motherhood and pottery, and what role does the myth about the origin of life from clay in different cultures and religions play in shaping our understanding of these concepts?
This design project explores the complex interplay between the concepts of "Labour" and "Reproduction" in the context of motherhood and womanhood, pottery and crafts. By examining the ways in which these terms are reflected in the process of creating ceramic pieces on the pottery wheel, the project will investigate the role of the potter in society and specifically female potters. Additionally, the project has another layer that refers to the myth about the origin of life from clay in different cultures and religions, this shapes our understanding of these concepts and their relationship to the human experience. Through a combination of visual art and written reflections, the project aims to offer a deeper and more nuanced understanding of the complex and multifaceted experiences of motherhood, craft, and creation.
These objects are inspired by anatomical drawings of human female reproductive organs taken from the book “The short history of anatomy & physiology from Greeks to Harvey”. The drawings may have been considered as medical research at the time, but in current observation they are speculative and funny. These made up organs are the product of men's imaginations and beliefs, which makes them almost artistic and expressive. By converting them into tangible objects we can reflect on the biassed limited perspectives of this research, and challenge false narratives.
The inspiration of using a clay-like material comes from the book as well where it is mentioned that in Roman times ovary terracotta figures would be buried along with childless women as a gift for the gods.
This work aims to reclaim the female body as a subject of truth and complexity, and attempts to shatter the illusions and deceptions that have long plagued the representation of women - to this day.
Venus of Willendorf Pinata
Labor Party - Animation
"All I knew, looking at my narrow, recessless body, was that one day another body would come out of it, although it was not clear how or from where. As I understood it I was not to be fitted with some kind of extraction device at a later date. This same body held the promise of a future violence, like a Mexican pinata doll full of sweets. Some people kept those dolls, unable to inflict upon them the tragedy that was their calling, even at the spur of the most urgent, intransigent desire."
Rachel Cusk, "A Life's Work : on becoming a mother"
nine plastic bellies, each with a projection of a miniature figure of myself dancing, drinking wine, smoking, and eating raw fish . These animations aim to celebrate fears and curiosity about pregnancy by doing things that are not traditionally allowed or outside of societal norms during pregnancy. Furthermore, the piece highlights the overmedicalization that pregnant individuals experience. As discussed in Israeli artist Korrine Kitzis' podcast, pregnant women are often treated like patients and are put in a sickhouse (a hospital)
