Modern Fertility

Modern Fertility (2019-2024) examines the complex intersection of female identity, the commodification of human genetic materials, and technology through a deeply personal lens. Beginning as an investigation of cultural expectations surrounding female identity and fertility, the project evolved to explore how reproductive choices are increasingly mediated by technology and commerce. The installation unfolds through three interconnected elements: contemplative still life photographs examining female identity and fertility practices; collected marketing artifacts from sperm banks and interviews with stakeholders that capture the commercializing human genetic material and its impact; and AI-generated work inspired by face-matching, a common marketing tactics by sperm banks. By scraping and analyzing over 1,000 sperm donor profiles from U.S. and European sperm banks, then processing the dataset through multiple AI systems, the work explores how technological bias may influence deeply personal and significant choices such as family formation. Together, these three interwoven elements create a dialogue between human and AI narratives, impacted by the commodification of human genetic materials. This juxtaposition invites viewers to consider how emerging technologies might reshape our most intimate decisions while examining whose stories are centered or erased in these technological systems.