Donorship (2023)
Stoneware clay, underglaze, glaze.
This sculpture was inspired by sculptor Hannah Pierce’s work Ownership. A metaphorical and literal collage, Pierce’s sculpture highlights an American woman’s still unattainable aspirations of gaining true prosperity even in the 21st century. Donorship plays off of the word ownership and the idea that people who menstruate are stripped of their bodily autonomy, which I chose to be symbolized literally by a uterus. The uterus is an organ, which happens to be the first word that comes to mind when I hear the word donor. Although the term organ-donor implies that the loss of an organ was voluntary, the use of donor in this context implies a sense of irony and alludes to the fact that strict reproductive health legislation strips individuals of their ability to choose entirely.