Reception and artist talk with the Alina Orav on Friday, September 18th, 2026 from 5:00pm to 8:00pm.
Exhibition Description
This exhibition presents a series of small papier-mâché relief sculptures mounted on the gallery walls. The works are half-sculptures that extend outward from frames (or shallow boxes) and are painted with acrylic. Each piece depicts a miniature sculpted scene related to pregnancy and birth, including pregnant bellies, infants, cesarean sections with infants emerging, vaginal births in progress, and babies contained within amniotic sacs. The reliefs are uniform in overall size and installed directly onto the walls. In some cases, the sculptures are placed inside small box-like enclosures that are open on one side, requiring viewers to approach closely and look inside. This format creates a contained viewing experience and emphasizes proximity and intimacy. In addition to the wall-mounted works, the exhibition includes a central installation consisting of a pile of soil placed directly on the gallery floor. Sculptural forms emerge from the soil, contrasting with the framed (or boxed) works on the walls. This installation introduces a second spatial condition - uncontained and grounded - that exists alongside the more controlled, wall-mounted presentations. The exhibition focuses on the physical processes of birth and medical intervention at a small, intimate scale. By presenting these subjects through miniature sculptural forms, the work encourages close inspection and sustained attention rather than distance or dramatization.
Context & Relevance
The work responds to contemporary realities surrounding birth and reproductive health in the United States. Following the 2022 Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson, federal constitutional protection for abortion ended, shifting regulation to individual states and intensifying national conversations around bodily autonomy, medical authority, and reproductive care. At the same time, the United States has one of the higher cesarean section rates among high-income countries: approximately 32.4% of live births in 2024 occurred via C-section, compared to a global average of about 21%. Additionally, the U.S. maternal mortality rate remains significantly higher than in most other high-income nations—approximately 19 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, compared with roughly 3–10 per 100,000 in peer countries. Rather than illustrating policy, the exhibition reflects on birth as a physical, emotional, and cultural experience—situated between care and control, intimacy and exposure, biology and politics.
