Birth Control I

The work depicts a human embryo enclosed in armor and surrounded by thorns. The embryo symbolizes an individual whose fate is assigned before the formation of selfhood. The armor represents a structure of protection intertwined with discipline—like a mold that forces growth into a predetermined shape before maturity. The thorns signify the persistent pressure and pain embedded in the process of becoming. Rooted in personal experience, the work also reflects a broader cultural condition. In the Chinese context, parents often project their unfulfilled ambitions onto their children, treating inherited paths as a given. The embryo thus becomes a metaphor for a being without agency, burdened with expectations at the very beginning of life.