when Politico A draft opinion from the Supreme Court that indicated the justices would overturn Roe v. Wade was leaked, and there was little response from the art world and its institutions. Fairs in New York last week, such as NADA, TEFAF and Independent, opened to the usual fanfare. But a much different mood was displayed at an art event on abortion held at the same time in the East Village.
Organized by writer Cassandra Neinsch, the event, titled Abortion Stories, took place May 6-8, and hosted events in Tompkins Square Park. The proceedings extended to the Cindy Rucker Gallery, where a group show featured feminist artists such as Lena Chen, Rebecca Jewett, and Christian Clifford, who worked I want your blood (2013-19), an installation showcasing perfume bottles filled with menstrual blood, was previously shown in Abortion Is Natural, a 2020 show that now looks more straightforward than it did before.
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“I started planning this a year ago when it seemed like we were seeing the writing on the wall with SCOTUS,” Ninesh said, referring to the Texas Heartbeat law banning all abortions in the state. “I could feel it in my bones. This is not going to go well.”
Cindy Rucker agreed to put the show up at the fair for the weekend, although the timing with the leak and the arrival of the fairs in New York was a coincidence. Abortion stories highlighted the work of feminist artists focused on reproductive rights, which Ninesh said have long been “disregarded and neglected as women’s things.”
The event began with a long session where people who had had abortions were invited to tell their stories. The women who had survived miscarriages before Roe were angry and full of grief. “Some of these women are 70 or 80 years old and I can’t believe this is happening again,” Nineesh said.
After that, Lina Chen drove We’ve lived through the gaps between the stories, a performance intended to express gratitude to abortion workers. The piece was adapted from work she did while residing at Wave Pool Gallery. The initial work was like a large wreath intertwined with herbs associated with reproductive health.
At the event, abortion providers and teachers carried a wreath while people copied more of these plants into the large structure, eventually taking it from the providers and hoisting it above their heads. Meanwhile, Chen read an article she wrote based on letters of gratitude to abortion providers she collected during her stay.
“I was inspired to do this piece after I helped my friend through a very painful abortion,” Chen said as she passed her 10-week-old son to artist Christian Clifford. “I was happy to be there to support my boyfriend, but if it’s stressful for me after just a day, how do the abortion providers feel?”
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