This exhibition of works by Mary Walling Blackburn and Rafael Kelman titled “Cottage Industry,” the third in a series at Booklyn concerning artists who explore the intersection of sociopolitical and personal matters, expands the discourse around reproduction exemplified by Walling Blackburn’s “â?? Anti Fertility Garden.” The project, which the artist discussed with A.i.A. earlier this year, responds to the attack on women’s reproductive choice, and advocates for individuals to plant gardens of substances speculated to hamper male fertility, such as myrtle and sumac. In the intimate space of Booklyn, tucked into a studio building in Greenpoint, Walling Blackburn and Kelman exhibit sculptures, paintings and text related to their critical inquiry into heterosexual coupledom and recent political events. Interested parties can purchase seed packets to start their own garden, illustrated with nude images and accompanied by a zine.
Pictured: Mary Walling Blackburn and Rafael Kelman: Seed Bags, 2015, display rack of plastic seed bags containing neem, papaya, skunkbush sumac, myrtle and cottonseed with illustrated labels and zine inserts; display rack 22 by 48 inches, seed bags 5 by 3 inches.