Field RESIDENT, Dec 5, 2021 - Jan 22, 2022

NOBLES' PROJECT:
The waiting rooms of women’s health clinics, often industrial and cold, represent a space of transience. My 2019 sculpture, Sonogram, explores the relationship between the female body, unexpected pregnancy and the waiting room chair. A patient who aborts her pregnancy sits in up to four waiting rooms before her appointment completion. A sonogram is taken in one room and revealed (or not) to the patient in another. Sonograms are visual images that capture different energies at different frequencies. My sculpture, Sonogram, shares these frequencies through shape, texture and touch to relay the experience. President Trump’s Administration attempted to pass ‘Conscience Rule,’ allowing healthcare providers to deny abortion based on moral or religious beliefs. U.S. District Judge Engelmayer in New York determined on Wednesday November 6, 2019 that the rule was ‘unconstitutionally coercive’ because it permitted the Department of Health and Human Services to deny billions of dollars of federal funding to organizations like Planned Parenthood. Judge Engelmayer also stated that the policy conflicts with Title VII, a federal law that prohibits discrimination. Ultimately, the Judge’s ruling implies that abortion is a personal choice to be made by the woman undergoing the procedure. To emphasize the devastating implications ‘Conscience Rule’ would have on America’s healthcare, the case highlighted the experiences of 26 plaintiffs. In honor of this ruling, I will be creating an exhibition, Choice is Individual sharing the stories of 26 people who received abortion services. The exhibition will be set up like a waiting room and the viewer will be able to scan a QR code and listen to the true story of that person. I am including both men, women, and non-binary people because I feel that this a conversation that is important to everyone. Stories unheard do us a disservice because we believe we are alone and that our choice needs to be hidden away. Working with people who experienced unexpected pregnancy, I would honor not only my story, but 26 other people who felt abortion services were crucial to them. I have completed 2 chairs and interviews thus far while at my residency at Pink Noise Projects.