Reproductive: Health, Fertility, Agency

This original publication was made on the occasion of the exhibition, Reproductive: Health, Fertility, Agency, which features work by artists Laia Abril, Candice Breitz, Elinor Carucci, Krista Franklin, Doreen Garner, Candy Guinea, Joanne Leonard, and Carmen Winant. Inside are reproductions of key images and original contributions by many of the artists, including an interview of Laia Abril by Carmen Winant, an interview of Candy Guinea by Karen Irvine and Kristin Taylor, a short story by Bina Shah that is an extension of Candice Breitz’s installation Labour (2017-ongoing), a collage by Krista Franklin, text by Elinor Carucci, text excerpts by Joanne Leonard and Doreen Garner, and an essay by Karen Irvine and Kristin Taylor.

Reproductive: Health, Fertility, Agency explores the psychological, physical, and emotional realities women encounter in the years leading up to, during, and after fertility. The exhibition features artists who consider a range of topics including birth, miscarriage, pleasure, the lack of access to abortion, trauma, and the loss of fertility.

The exhibition’s title, Reproductive, refers to both the act of copying something, like a photograph, and the biological creation of offspring. The active tense of the verb “to reproduce” points to the capacity that these artists are at once demonstrating and demanding: agency.

The exhibition is organized by MoCP chief curator and deputy director Karen Irvine and curator of academic programs and collections Kristin Taylor, and is on view from January 19^th – May 23^rd, 2021.

Produced by: The Museum of Contemporary Photography at Columbia College Chicago

Published by: The Museum of Contemporary Photography at Columbia College Chicago

Designed by: Jason Pickleman and JNL Design

Edited by: Karen Irvine and Kristin Taylor

ISBN: 978-0-9906916-1-7

Pages: 121