Lena Chen - WE LIVED IN THE GAPS BETWEEN THE STORIES
Lena Chen’s We Lived In The Gaps Between The Stories was a participatory artwork celebrating the labor of abortion providers, midwives, healers, herbalists, doulas, clinic escorts, and all who care for abortion seekers. In a reciprocal act of labor, the artist worked with local growers, herbalists (Ellie Mae Mitchell), florist (Patricia Campos), and Cincinnati residents to create a series of wreaths made from abortifacients and emmenagogues (plants with contraceptive properties). Visitors were invited to contribute by writing thank you letters and co-creating the communal wreath displayed at Wave Pool Gallery, which functioned as a sacred space for this process. Individual wreaths were then gifted to abortion care workers in a ritual of gratitude.
Lena Chen was the 2021 Vance Waddell Artist-In-Residence, working in conversation with artworks in the Sara M. & Michelle Vance Waddell Collection. Alongside Chen’s solo show, the gallery exhibited two pieces from the Vance Waddell Collection, Andrea Bowers’ Wall of Letters: Necessary Reminders from the Past for a Future of Choice.
Exhibition Opening: Saturday, June 12, 2021, 6-8pm, Wave Pool Gallery
Artist Talk: Thursday, June 24, 2021, 7-8pm, Wave Pool Gallery
The Vance Waddell Residence is funded by an ArtsNEXT grant from the Ohio Arts Council.
