dust to dust A DATA PHYSICALIZATION OF THE VIOLENT DESTRUCTION OF ABORTION ACCESS
In my hometown of Knoxville, Tennessee, on New Year's Eve 2021, Planned Parenthood was targeted by Mark Reno, a militant Catholic extremist, who was later proven to have participated in the January 6th Capitol Insurrection. The local Channel 10 News reported, "The fire started shortly before 7 a.m. on Dec. 31, 2021, at the building then-located at 710 N. Cherry Street. Planned Parenthood said it had spent more than $2 million renovating the building up until that point. All the work went up in flames, and the building was a total loss."
In the previous year, there had been five abortion clinic arsons in the United States. While the individual numbers of violent acts like arson fluctuate from year to year, they are part of an overall steady increase in violence and harassment over the past 45 years. I, along with many others, are still grieving and processing the new reality that Roe v. Wade has been overturned.
The National Abortion Federation has released extensive Violence and Disruption reports dating back to 2010. The list on the right is from their 2020-2021 report and shows the arson attacks, among many other incidents of violence and disruption against abortion providers. This report also details the relationship between white nationalists and the anti-abortion movement, in particular noting key figures that have both targeted clinics and participated in the January 6th Capitol Insurrection. Below is a quote from the report:
"The people who threaten clinic workers and harass individuals seeking abortion care are often the same people who participate in other violent and extremist activities that are deeply harmful. The people who threaten clinic workers and harass individuals seeking abortion care are often the same people who participate in other violent and extremist activities that are deeply harmful. The overlap between white nationalists and the anti-abortion movement has existed for many years. In 1985, the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) began creating wanted posters listing the personal information of abortion providers. The first murder of an abortion provider, Dr. David Gunn, was perpetrated by a white supremacist who was mentored by former Klansman John Burt."
For my project, I decided to focus on the seven acts of arson as data points, because arson has had the most profound personal effect on me. As an open, visibly gay (queer, trans, non-binary lesbian) with a long term partner who shares my same identity and works in abortion care access, I feel that it is no longer safe for us to return to my home. We love living in Durham, NC but worry for ourselves and our community's future.
I made this structure from lasercut cardboard pieces designed in TinkerCad, that when assembled represent my hometown Planned Parenthood, access to abortion care, and more broadly healthcare options for marginalized individuals in the south. The candles inside the structure, represent the ongoing violence done against abortion care providers, and those who rely on their services. Finally, the ashes that remain symbolize the legislative culmination of those violent efforts: the overturn of Roe v Wade.
When considering the materials for my project, I knew it was important to use materials that were low cost, environmentally friendly, and would communicate the full emotional experience of something being completely reduced to ashes. After doing several tests burning different types of materials, I decided the best option for this was recycled cardboard. I made three different models: the first (pictured on the right) is a model to show all of the symbolic elements, the second was used to test the materials, assembly, and flammability, and the third was for the video "performance."
As mentioned before, in the floor of the structure there are seven holes, where I've placed seven candles that represent the seven arsons committed to abortion clinics from 2020-2021. I focused on this time frame because it is when the Planned Parenthood in my hometown was burned down. In the most recent report from 2021-22, arson rose significantly in the states that continued to offer abortion after Roe v. Wade was overturned June 24, 2022. See the National Abortion Federation Violence and Disruption statistics for 2020-2021 here and 2021-2022 here.
These are my designs and various stages of the creative process. This was my first time designing a buildable model in TinkerCad, so I watched a free youtube tutorial and customized the windows, doorway, and awning. While I kept the tutorial dimensions, I incorporated the main identifiable elements of the Knoxville Planned Parenthood building that I found in Google Maps and media coverage articles.
In my first test run I learned many things about how to make the the "performance" work. The candles had to be a certain height so the structure wouldn't instantly burst into flames and disintegrate, and rather than trying to light the candles from the top and put the roof on, I had to light the candles first then drop the structure on top of the floor.
A local news article from 2022 states, "The Knoxville clinic provided medication abortion services as well as pregnancy testing, counseling, and birth control, along with other health services such as cancer screenings and hormone replacement therapy for LGBTQ clients. All those services are anticipated to resume when the clinic reopens." The Knoxville Planned Parenthood has still not been rebuilt in October 2023 and abortion is now criminalized in the state of Tennessee. In reality, these services may never resume. This is a google maps image of the empty site.
My hope is that with this project, I will continue to bring awareness to the violent and extreme political moment that we live in, where people of marginalized identities are devalued and live in constant fear that their bodily autonomy and right to safe and legal healthcare will disappear completely. It matters deeply to fight against fascism, fear-based thinking, and gendered violence because our freedom, and bodily autonomy is more precarious than ever. It is not enough to be pro-choice, we must be proudly and publicly pro-abortion.
Here is what you can say instead of “pro-choice”:
Abortion is a human right.
Abortions help people thrive.
Abortion is healthcare.
Abortions are a radical act of self-care.
Abortion is normal.
Abortion providers are heroes.
Everyone deserves compassionate abortion care.
Abortions save lives.
Abortions make people’s lives better.
Abortion is a moral and social good.