Art form: 2-D, 3-D, Film / Video

Medium: Mixed Media Installation

Year created: 2008

Description of work: Take Care, The Art, Science and Bioethics of Motherhood is a group installation of 14 works by 9 artists.

All works investigate the Bioethical Concerns of Contemporary Motherhood, with a blend of wall/free-standing sculptures.

Annette Gates - COLONY, white porcelain sculptures of single-cell organisms (wall)

Kristina Arnold - DRIP, red glass/clear plastic sculpture references genetic inheritance (wall)

Adrienne Outlaw - FECUND, breast-like structures/video installations (wall)

Sher Fick - COPING SKILLS, fabric covered prescription bottles on a mirrored altar table (floor)

Lindsay Obermeyer - SHADOW, embroidered/beaded installations (wall)

Libby Rowe - WOMB WORRIES, multiple handmade malformed sockmonkeys (wall)

Sadie Ruben - ALIEN FOETUS, flesh-tone forms glass containers (shelf)

Monica Bock - AFTERBIRTH, 3 cast-glycerine dustpans/glass bottles (pedestal)

Jeannette May - FERTILITY IN THE AGE OF A.R.T. (Assisted Reproductive Technology) photos (wall)

Work statement: The rapid advancement of medical technology has brought with it unprecedented bioethical dilemmas. Particularly in economically advanced countries, technologies are outpacing the ability to fully understand their moral implications. TAKE CARE: The Art, Science and Bioethics of Motherhood considers civilization’s unease with modern family planning, maternal-fetal care, childbirth and childrearing. For the first time in history, there is knowledge available to mothers which forces them to make life-death decisions whether to carry a disfigured, malformed, or unintentional fetus to term, whether to use pharmaceuticals with their associated risks, and whether to risk passing on genetic diseases. We are no longer able to rely on long-established religious, societal or medical expertise for guidance. TAKE CARE highlights these bioethical dilemmas, with the hope that viewers will take the opportunity to better appreciate the complexity of these personal decisions in a rapidly changing world.