The Library of Birthing and Unbirthing

a storytelling, collecting, and sharing project.

In the next iteration of my ongoing series Tired Bodies, I am conducting story sharing and story collecting activities which will lead to the creation of new Tired Body sculptures, installations, and other objects, in collaboration with the public.

I’m focused on story collection and resource building stories of birthing and “un-birthing” with an aim towards elucidating the necessity for more complete reproductive justice in our society. Birth stories, as a practice, have a rich history in cultures all over the world and have existed as a way for women to empower themselves and others during the process of having children, particularly in societies where medical fields do not favor the health of birthing persons. Not only am I interested in tapping that power through the translation of birthing stories into Tired Body installations that provide a more public acknowledgement of these experiences, but I am equally interested in harnessing that power for stories of “un-birthing” which I define as stories of abortion, child loss, and choices to not reproduce, etc. These stories are told even less publicly than birth stories and can provide just as much aid to those in similar situations and making similar choices. Both sets of stories can be powerful motivators for change in our culture regarding birthing peoples, their health, and the choices they make. These stories and the resulting Tired Body sculptures and installations will function as witnesses and testimonies for birthing people as well as champions of choice and health.

My vision for the collection of these stories is to create an accessible archive, a library, of birthing and unbirthing that might travel and live in a variety of places and function as a space for conversation, story sharing, and actions.

In addition to works that fall in with the Tired Body series,

• I am open to creating a variety of objects that might tell these stories, and seek to exert little control over the process, instead relying on the stories themselves to guide the creation and final product.

• I am deeply invested in creating physical spaces where story sharing is as easy and comfortable as possible.

• I am interested in the ways I might engage story sharers with the objects and sculptures I might create in response to their stories, in a kind of continuous loop of giving and taking, sharing and building.

The artist notes that stories from all birthing peoples are welcome.

Finally, for transparency regarding her own positionality regarding these stories: the artist is a white, latinx, cis-woman, mostly straight, married mother of one child who has had an abortion and is currently on an IUD form of birth control.

Defining birthing:

For the purpose of this project, the artist defines birthing as any part of your family building story including, but not limited to: conceiving, pregnancy, labor and birth, post partum, adoption, lack of choice and access, and caregiving of all kinds which create familial connection, etc. If you feel your story is one of building family then it can belong to this project.