What To Expect When Expecting
What to Expect When Expecting is an invitation to step inside of another's body and explore what could have been and what might be. Participants are asked to face the dichotomy of bringing forth life and dreams in a world that is facing climate destruction.
The Installation
A 5 sided, wooden platform has a body cast of a different pregnant belly and chest at each side. Each cast has been created using plaster strips, then sealed. They're on metal posts, secured to the platform and can be raised and lowered to more perfectly fit the participant's height. The implication when stepping up on the platform is to step directly into the cast, and then to wear/experience a new body. Fragmented pieces of mirror are sandwiched between two sheets of plexiglass, this stands to the side of each body cast/participant, so that they can see themselves in this new shape in the mirrors, while being broken by the surrounding scene on the playa. Each cast is transformed to represent a particular climate issue that we face- rising sea levels, forest fires, etc, using collage.
Mission & Philosophy
We plan to combine woodworking, welding, mirror play, plaster sculpture and collage. We're excited to have our whole group contribute on an artistic level that fits different skills and interests. But once the installation is finished, its potential is only fully realized when a person at Burning Man steps into a body cast and completes the sculpture. Without the participant, it's only an invitation. It's how they look, feel and think when inside the body that makes the installation come alive.
We live in a time when the decision to have a child comes with the knowledge of an interdependent multi-reality: climate change and pollution conflicts with the desire for a family, and a hope for the future. In our artist collective, "Future Problems," we are in the midst of a potent shared experience; at least nine of us are considering having children in the next year. We don't know what to expect as we look towards what might come. As we consider our own choices, we want to help everyone who interacts with this installation appreciate how it might feel to be simultaneously filled with a dream and concerned about the state of the world.This dichotomy applies to all types of creation: babies, projects, thoughts, dreams, investments. Because each body is a cast of a different pregnant person, there's also an opportunity for participants of all genders to experience physically dwelling in someone else's body and shape, even if only for a moment.