ABSTRACT
The Foetus Phallus Studio is an autoethnographic study around the artistic creation of a hybrid form the author calls ‘foetus-phallus.’ This study analyses how both the foetus and the phallus have visual histories that trace back to ancient times and are rooted in medical practices of categorising individuals as either male or female. The chapter argues that the phallus has shaped the iconic form of the foetus and that the foetus in turn serves as a visual echo of the phallus. As a result of this shaping, one can be used to analyse the biopolitical function of the other. Understanding this visual echo leads to a critical analysis of artistic representations that reinforce dominant medical narratives of pregnancy. The author also reflects on her experiences as a gynaecologic patient undergoing ultrasound examinations with phallic-shaped instruments probing inside her body and the impact of these examinations on her artistic practice with foetus-phallus forms.
