Post-Birth

As the creator and subject of the piece, I assume the role of the "mother" alongside the bacteria from my body's surface, in an ongoing body experiment that simulates the relationship between mother and child. To achieve this, I cultivate the bacteria on my hair, nails, and skin, using an external uterus suspended on my abdomen. Throughout the performance, I engage in daily activities that imitate the physical process of pregnancy, including prenatal yoga, education, and daily care. The interactions are recorded on video and displayed on CRT TV.    

The performance culminates in a symbolic birth: the bacterial cultures are transferred to an incubator, while the emptied silicone uterus is preserved in formalin as a specimen. This transition—from nurturing to letting go—mirrors emotional, cultural, and generational cycles of motherhood.

These artificially created uteri become an extension of my body, embodied as part of me. When they were developing inside me, when they were born, and when they were placed in incubators, the power dynamic between them and my body kept changing. I wondered if they were parasites or if I was just a part of laboratory material.    

The pregnant mother

Post-Birth is a time-based performance and bio-art installation that reimagines reproduction beyond the limits of the human body. In this work, bacteria cultured from my own skin, hair, and nails are nurtured inside an external resin uterus attached to my abdomen. I perform daily prenatal gestures—touching, breathing, feeding—treating these microbes as an alternative form of offspring. The performance culminates in a symbolic birth: the bacterial cultures are transferred to an incubator, while the emptied silicone uterus is preserved in formalin as a specimen. This transition—from nurturing to letting go—exposes the fragility of biological intimacy while questioning who or what deserves care. Post-Birth proposes a provocative alternative to human-centered reproduction and imagines new forms of kinship beyond the body. 

My Babies…