This work is an investigation of my personal journey with fertility, infertility, age and motherhood.

 

Because art can only ask questions, my goal is to establish conversations with both women and men about issues that are relevant to the times we live in, where woman have choices and motherhood is no longer a requirement nor a priority. Yet ironically, the luxury of having such choices is also dictated/limited by a biological clock and financial feasibility.

 

This project proposes to function as a vehicle for dialogue with viewers and among viewers. This dialogue among viewers will expand awareness of the complexities surrounding this topic, which even in this day and age is still considered a taboo.

 

Inspired by images of my own blastocyst (embryos) photographed while undergoing fertility treatments, none of which resulted in a positive pregnancy, I began exploring the social and biological impact of motherhood, fertility, and infertility in contemporary lifestyles.

 

This work speaks to my battle against time, my obsession with trying to get pregnant, the social pressures I encountered through my journey and the huge lengths, both physically and financially in which we undertook in order achieve a positive pregnancy.

 

I explore different materials to express this journey. Wax, resin, needles, plastic babies, gold leaf, fabric, ink, graphite and video are some of the tools I used in the creation of the pieces to evidence the multi-dimensional aspect of my experience.

 

Through out this journey I was never able to answer my own questions about fertility, but through the art making process came the realization that as a woman I should not be defined by the number of children I have or not have, and that in spite of my biological limitations as a creator of life, I am still a creator of ideas.