ARTIST STATEMENT
This piece is a representation of two contemporary political concerns in the state of Texas. In 2022, the state of Texas began erecting buoys, blades, and razor wire in the Rio Grande river to prevent people from crossing into the state from Mexico. Also in 2022, Roe v. Wade was overturned, making abortion illegal in the state. Since then, more buoys have been erected and more legislation has been introduced to further restrict movement. In the summer of 2025, additional abortion laws were drafted that further sought to restrict women from seeking care out of state, including the prohibition of others to provide financial assistance to women to obtain care out of state, prohibition of helping unemancipated minors travel out of state, and the prohibition of mailing abortion medication into the state. Only the medication abortion law was passed. With this piece, I’d like to draw parallels between the cruel physical barriers and the invisible legislative barriers the Texas government is creating to further restrict the movement and behavior of vulnerable individuals.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
My background in the medical field provides me with a deep understanding of the challenges women face in obtaining reproductive healthcare services and the vital role that access to care plays in enabling women to live rich and meaningful lives and remain autonomous and engaged in their community. I am deeply interested in the idea of time, and how women’s reproductive healthcare access has changed – and continues to change – and the effect of these changes on the women’s rights movement. My current body of work is focused on researching contraceptive devices from the 1960s and 1970s and exploring the ways in which patriarchal forces shaped women’s healthcare in the early development phases of contraception, family planning, and reproductive justice.
© Lauren Doorish