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Following the birth of her child, the artist extended a dinner invitation
to her friends. The placenta resulting from the birth was on the menu.
The placenta is the fetus’ extension into the mother. Where it
functions as the interface between the two allowing the maternal and
foetal blood currents to be bought into close relationship, there is
however no intermingling of the two currents. The placenta also functions
as a nutrient and waste exchanger, the term ‘placenta’ originates
from the Latin word for ‘flat cake’. In everyday speech,
though the placenta is generally referred to as the ‘afterbirth’.
Recognizing the placenta as a space symbolic of human closeness and
individuality, the work also plays on the conflicting terminology that
describes it
as both foodstuff and bodily waste. Combining the footage of this dinner event with the characteristics of the placenta, the performance links the physical experiences of the female body to political conflicts involving the occupation of one country by another. This is achieved by claiming the impregnated female body as an occupied space, invaded by an unknown alien creature, further aligning the placenta as the colonial walls. Although dealing with complex issues, this work is a tribute to the loving bond between mother and child. Placing the boundless strength and open generosity born through this bond in opposition to the tragedy born from the fear of human difference. |
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