value of Choice

This piece explores women’s issues surrounding birth and choice. The ability of women to bear children has long been counted as a source of value within society and marriage, a woman who was barren was of little ‘value’.

Traditionally the central panel of a woman’s dress - known as the stomacher - was where a woman featured her finest jewels or embroidery. This served socially to show off her husbands wealth, a walking advertisement for her husbands value.

This piece showcases an elongated stomacher featuring a 3D embroidered foetus. The stomacher hinges open to reveal an empty, bejewelled uterus.

A modern day woman’s value lies in her ability to choose, and this piece reinforces the fact that the choice to have an empty womb does not devalue her.

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