As seen on the People’s Choice Awards stage, Michele’s Pred’s “ABORTION PILLS FOREVER” purse acts as a small-scale political billboard.
Earlier this month, when Lizzo took to the People’s Choice Awards stage to accept her prize for the “People’s Champion,” she used the opportunity to spotlight activists. Mentioned among the strong women on stage was Amelia Bonow, the co-founder, and director of Shout Your Abortion. Bonow has been working to normalize and legalize abortion in America by spreading knowledge surrounding birth control pills and access to abortion. During the speech, Bonow sported a black clutch strewn in green writing reading “ABORTION PILLS FOREVER,” designed by artisan and activist Michele Pred.
The Swedish-American artist, who was featured in Mission’s inaugural issue, started her series, “The Power of The Purse,” which uses purses to symbolize women and their bodies, in 2014. As the artist explains in an interview with Mission, “I’ve used [handbags] symbolically a lot, I also think of them as small-scale, political billboards that you can carry around.” The bags brandish different messages varying from “MY BODY MY BUSINESS” to “TIME’S UP” and “VOTE,” which was seen on Hillary Clinton. The bags have been used to share widespread feminist messages, from gallery walls to red-carpet events. “It was really exciting to see that that message spread on such a huge stage with an incredibly large reach, and I’m curious to see where Amelia carries the purse next,” says Pred of the bag’s cameo at the awards.
Pred’s work was focused on abortion for almost 30 years before Roe v. Wade came under threat. After the supreme court overturned the ruling that ensured access to abortion for all women in the U.S., Pred’s work took on a new sense of urgency. She henceforth created the Billboard project, whereby leading up to the election, she rented 18 billboards in the states where abortion is either now illegal or heavily restricted and covered them in messaging supporting voting for Abortion rights. “It was sending messages to people all over the country, especially in states where abortion is restricted. I just felt like I needed to do something tangible right away,” Pred explains.
Along with making an artistic statement, Pred uses her work to disseminate information. In her most recent piece, Abortion is a Human Right, Pred took over the beach at Miami Art Week, carving a large-scale abortion pill in the sand using sea kelp. Her piece was designed to educate people on the accessibility of the FDA-approved abortion pills, Mifepristone and Misoprostol, available in all 50 states. Over 50% of abortions in the U.S. are achieved through the abortion pill (within the first 70 days of pregnancy), and even women in restricted states can order the pill to have on hand before they’re even pregnant via a service called Advance Provision. Although acquiring these pills can come with legal risks, they are accessible online.
“Apparently, one and four people in the United States don’t know about abortion pills or how they work,” Pred explains, “so I’ve decided through my artwork to really focus on that.”
Images courtesy of Michele Pred.
