Artists' Television Access

Superfetation is a second conception during pregnancy, which causes the womb-bearer to carry two, differently-aged embryos, growing parallel to one another. In a spectacular real-life case in the United States, a hired surrogate laborer, carrying what she thought were twins, learned upon giving birth that this was not the case at all. In fact, one child, which she thought had been an implanted embryo, was actually her own child, conceived with her partner. She immediately recognized the child as hers, yet she was required to relinquish both children: the contract she signed meant that her child was no longer her “property”.

As the surrogacy industry stands, both the working bodies and the born bodies become property. In the United States, the nuclear family structure produces, reproduces and protects property. Currently, the demand for surrogacy services among the global middle class is exploding at the same time that the nuclear family structure absorbs all demands that would otherwise be provided by community-centered care, and/or a functional welfare state.

This work utilizes the symbol and phenomenon of superfetation to explore themes related to the acceleration of consumption culture, private property, and bodies-as-property in a near-dystopian future accelerated by climate change.