HISTORY of BIRTH CONTROL Installation: Client: Planned Parenthood of Southwest Oregon

Did you know that since the dawn of history, women from every corner of the earth, in every civilization, from every era, developed plant-based solutions to control their birthrates? From ancient Egyptian rulers to slaves in the American south. I had no idea… until I was asked to create a History of Birth Control installation in the brand new Planed Parenthood facility serving Southwest Oregon. Regardless of one’s position on abortion rights, the fact that women have forever been making this fraught, and sometimes dangerous choice, one that they’ve deemed essential for their survival, is a sobering history to understand and appreciate.

The CONCEPT to dynamically represent the relatively unknown universal history of plant-induced birth control was Sarah Sockit’s, the PPSWO Director of Communications. Together we organized the imagery that would grace the floor and walls of the brand new reception area as well as designing the stylized inlaid plant plates to be embedded into the walkways leading to the main doors of the facility.. The individual mural panels are included at the bottom of this page. Def worth the read.

IUD BIKE RACKS: These brilliant IUD bike racks were designed, fabricated and powder coated by metal artist Johnny Barton, of Richmond, Virginia. An IUD (Intrauterine Device) is a small piece of flexible plastic generally shaped like a T that’s put into one’s uterus to prevent pregnancy. It’s long-term, reversible, and one of the most effective birth control methods out there. Turns out that IUD’s come in many unique shapes that make it easy to lock up a bike!