Maternities in tension. A project that jumped from the archive to the street.

Abstract

A picture by artist Ana Victoria, part of her archive, records a feminist demonstration in 1977 in which we demanded the right to an abortion covered by the public healthcare system. Her archive documents my memories. This image made me question how much the situation in Mexico has changed since then in terms of the control we have over our bodies. With this in mind, I summoned a group of feminist artists and activists to develop a collaborative piece titled Abducted Maternities. Given the complexity of the issue, each one of us convened a group of women we shared the same concerns with to, in small groups, deepen our ideas. We also launched the hashtag #UnaMaternidadSecuestradaEs (#AnAbductedMotherhoodIs) through social networks to open up to broader experiences.  Out of these meetings grew the idea to make La Protesta del Día Después (The Day After Protest), a performance/demonstration at the Zócalo of Mexico City on May 11, 2012. In 2019, inspired in the exhibition “Obras, procesos y pedagogías” (Works, Processes and Pedagogies) at Walden Gallery in Buenos Aires with the curatorship of María Laura Rosa, we decided to reactivate Maternidades Secuestradas (Abducted Maternities). Via e-mail and video calls, we started working, contacting each other to build what in we Argentina call Maternidades en Tensión (Maternities in Tension). Throughout this reactivation, I became an advisor and collaborator. This kind of projects only flourishes by growing its own roots.