How do you mourn the loss of someone/something, when that loss is the result of an active choice? The element of choice does not make the weight of the interlaced grief any less heavy to bear. ‘Unexpected Visitor’ explores the challenge of finding a space in society to grieve the loss of an aborted foetus, openly.
In a marriage of acceptance between two versions of the self (the one who chose to be a mother, and the one who chose to be an artist), the artist walks down the aisle of a church wearing her law school graduation robe, embroidered with the sonogram of her aborted foetus; when the only memory of her unborn foetus exists in a sonogram, she'd like to immortalise it.
In the place a priest would usually deliver his sermon, the artist recites a poem reflecting on the lingering presence of the aborted foetus on her life within the walls of an institution historically known for its opposition to the fundamental right of abortion, hoping to inspire empathy and create a space for shared healing. Exposing the conflict that exists between the law, organised religion, and women’s reproductive rights, the performance reminds us that loss and grief are universal human emotions. In times of deep suffering, it is empathy and unity through the medicinal power of talking, not polarisation, which has the power to heal.
