Re-production

A mother breastfeeding her little one, Madonna with the infant – these are the traditional images – formulae of motherhood, well-known to all of us from the works of art. In each and every epoch this eternal theme is interpreted by artists in a different way.

The present exhibition offers a new reading of the problems and trends of parenthood as seen by contemporary painters.

The end of the XXth and the beginning of the XXIst century mark significant changes in the attitude of humankind towards its own reproduction. The cultivated archetype of the devoted, heroic mother typical for the past hundred years abounding in wars and revolutions is substituted by the model of pragmatically planned maternity during the century of consumership and egocentrism.

The development of individualism as one of the basic characteristics of our most recent times is supported and regulated by liberal and democratic laws. Since the appearance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights/ UN, 1948/ to the Charter of Fundamental Rights / European Parliament, 2007/ humankind has passed through a long period of changes. To what extent the guaranteed rights regulate the real relations between parents and children? Whose rights are protected under one of the most important points of the Charter - “Right of Life”? The extensions of the limits of human rights are a dynamic process that is continuously evolving. Does the family institution have any future? What are the priorities in personal life of women and men in the post-feminism epoch? Is there any necessity for liberalization of the laws as regards marriages between persons from gay communities and how are resolved the problems of single sex couples if they decide to start up a family and raise children?

The substantial factor of change is the demographic crisis overwhelming developed countries, as well as the countries from the former socialist block. The birth rate decline that has started in the end of the past century is on its way to turning into a national catastrophe in the great majority of European countries. At the same time the population in underdeveloped countries progressively increases. The asymmetry of this process creates prerequisites for a new world order.

Our idea of the possibilities for creation of life has totally changed with the emergence and spreading of reproductive technologies using the latest state-of-the-art scientific discoveries in the field of biotechnology and genetic technology. The wide proliferation of centers for artificial conception following the in-vitro method /test-tube baby/¹/ has seriously influenced the options for family planning, and has also significantly replaced age restrictions imposed by nature. What are the psychological, social and morale and ethical factors of this scientific experiment?

Commercialization of maternity is another substantial trend. In the new century everything is bought and sold – from the sperm and ovaries to the process of bearing another person's child. Surrogate motherhood turns into a successful industry, a part of the so-called health tourism to the countries where it is allowed and survives within a criminal environment in the countries in which it is prohibited under the law.

The word “reproduction” ² according to the unilingual dictionary means recreation and multiplication. It also means biological reproduction and reproduction through printing out of an image. The separation of the prefix “Re-” in the title of the project emphasizes its dual meaning. “Re-“as a repetitiveness of an action –repetitiveness of delusions and grandiose utopias, starting from political ideologies to unconditional trust in the triumph of technical progress and “re-” as recovery-return- to the lost meanings, to the forgotten centurial traditions and the experience accumulated by the preceding generations, a process in which the copies are restored with the originals.
Modern parenthood exists amidst an intricate interlacing of natural instincts, religious beliefs in the divine origin of life, occultism and mysticism, the latest scientific research in the field of bio and genetic technologies, the liberal and democratic rules, imposed in the specific countries restrictive laws and the coveted personal freedom and individual choice.

Reproductive cloning³ and research on the possibility of production of spermatic cells from womens bone marrow would make men entirely useless. Freezing of female eggs may guarantee them a long and comfortable youth.Will we be able to order children on prescription? In what direction will evolve the future of reproduction?

Will we distinguish the differences between artificial reproduction and natural or will we be satisfied with more sophisticated ways of reproduction?


Alla Georgieva

¹ In 1978 the world's first "test-tube baby", Louise Brown, was born in England.


² Reproduction: re-creation (and creation of posterity) is a biological process, through which the new “generation” of individual organisms is produced by their "parents. . Reproduction is a fundamental feature of all known life ; each individual organism exists as the result of reproduction. (Wikipedia.org)

A picture, a photograph, etc., recreated (and reproduced) via printing or photographing. .adj. reproductive; reproductive apparatus ,(Unilingual dictionary)

³ In 2002, the world's press thundered with the sensation of the birth of the world's first cloned baby, product of the French company Clonaid. There was speculation that a girl Eve is a genetic copy of a 30-year old mother, member the sect of Rael, that believes in the extraterrestrial origin of life on our planet.