Teenage
Pregnancy, devised for the Liverpool Biennial, thematises the
high percentage of underage pregnancy in the UK, the highest in
Europe. It is provided as a media campaign in which with well
designed advertising photos published in the papers, in women’s
magazines and the press for young people as well as in posters
displayed in public spaces, it juxtaposes to the cute iconography
of little babies and children’s rooms an inscription about Britain’s
lead in teen pregnancies and statements of juvenile mums about
life with a child, getting up, getting worried, going off to school
and studying.The
artist does not however treat the young mothers as juveniles with
behaviour problems, but draws attention to it being an urgent
social situation in which she calls upon the public to do something.
The
institution of the Biennial was not prepared to support the production
of the work. It demanded that the author should remove from the
posters the statement that the UK was the country with the highest
percentage of juvenile pregnancy, and she, refusing to withdraw
the inscription, suggested the campaign be displayed at the exhibition
as a proposal, on the controversial issues of which the visitors
should decide. Ultimately, the campaign was not held, although
the public voted the need for it.
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