10 Artists / 2000 Speculums

October 4 - 13, 2018​
Step Gallery, Arizona State University

​Creative Push presents newly commissioned artwork by ten artists who use the speculum—a medical device used during gynecological exams to view the cervix and vagina—as both artistic material and subject. The project originated with the donation of 2,000 speculums from an Arizona obstetric and gynecological health organization, seeking to encourage annual exams through artistic means. What began as a peculiar topic for an art exhibition became a powerful discussion about women’s health and personal journeys, forging a universal connection among women.
 
10 Artists / 2000 Speculums shapes a new dialogue around the female experience, free of embarrassment, trauma, and stigma. Each artwork offers a new, often unseen, view of the speculum through physical transformation, critique of gendered clichés, personal realization, invocation of mythology, or confrontation with the object’s problematic history. With each reinterpretation of the speculum, the taboo object takes on new meaning to redress the intimidation and anxiety associated with gynecological exams, where one’s most intimate and vulnerable parts of the body are exposed. Connecting the art and health communities, this exhibition aims to raise awareness of women’s health, revealing both the challenges and victories involved.

Artists include Malena Barnhart, Elizabeth Brice-Heames, Sue Chenoweth, Saskia Jorda, Cydnei Mallory, Ann Morton, Christy Puetz, Rebecca Blume Rothman, Forrest Solis, and Jen Urso. Organized by Creative Push and curated by Lauren R. O’Connell with artist Forrest Solis. Support provided by ASU Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts.