“Placenta Underground” by Cristin Millett, Cynthia N. White, Ionat Zurr

Title:

Placenta Underground

Artist(s) and People Involved:

Filmmaker, Video Artist, or Animator(s):

Cristin Millett -
- Pennsylvania State University (Penn State)
Cynthia N. White -
- Pennsylvania State University (Penn State)
Ionat Zurr -
- University of Western Australia

Symposium:

ISEA2024: 29th International Symposium on Electronic Art

Venue(s):

The Loft Theatre, QUT Creative Industries Precinct, Brisbane, Australia

Artist Statement:

The Placenta Underground is part of an ongoing project called Ex-Utero, a provocative exploration of human reproduction and the extraordinary possibilities of ectogenesis. Imagine a future where artificial wombs can support pregnancy outside of the uterus. That future is closer than you think. With the development of incubators as surrogate wombs, new technologies will provide an environment for gestation ex vivo. But what will happen to the placenta, a critical gestational organ, in this scenario? This short film explores the social, political and technological future in which pregnancy occurs ex-utero and the placenta is no longer a necessary reproductive organ.