In this untitled performance I built and manipulated the space or landscape around me, performing a monotonous and undefined task before revealing the purpose of the action. Assembling grasses, sticks, leaves, string, tarp, and wire into a large circular nest form as the performance progresses; once the form was made, I quickly and without comment “birthed” a jade egg into the nest.

This product, the jade egg, or yoni egg, was made famous after being touted as a healing and muscle-building product on Goop—Gwyneth Paltrow’s lifestyle blog. One article on the site stated, “Jade eggs can help cultivate sexual energy, clear chi pathways in the body, intensify femininity, and invigorate our life force. To name a few!” Criticism of this product was swift from gynecologists and consumers who tried it. The idea that this product—which implies there is something wrong with your vagina or that it is weak—is part of a broader issue with the way beauty, self-help, and personal care products are sold to women.

As a woman in her late thirties, I became concerned about fertility and thought more about whether or not I wanted to have a child. The first video performance of this piece took place at my home during this time of questioning and searching. The first live performance of this piece took place in Miami as a part of the NeXus Transcontinental Performance Art Platform at Edge Zones Art Gallery, curated by Hector Canonge. During this live performance, I was visibly 20 weeks pregnant. In this performance, I constructed the nest for approximately five minutes before the egg was dropped. Because the audience was unaware that I was holding the egg in my vagina, the piece concluded with a moment of surprise.

“Untitled” was a personal reflection and cultural criticism on the ways sexuality and health are marketed and sold to women the United States. The egg and the form of the egg became fodder for my work as I used the object not as it was intended, but in a literal way to contemplate my own experiences with fertility and birth.