On Thursday morning (1 December), Swedish-American conceptual artist Michele Pred enacted an iteration of her Abortion Is A Human Right, a large-scale sand drawing of two abortion pills, on the shore of Miami Beach. The works, 20 ft and 25 ft in width, depicted misoprostol and mifepristone medicines. She was joined on the beach by a group of collaborators and supporters, including Nadya Tolokonnikova of Pussy Riot.
Pred invited viewers to write “Abortion is a Human Right” in giant letters alongside the work. Despite most Americans being in favour of abortion, the procedure has been largely outlawed in many states—including Florida—and legislation has restricted critical access in many more. Pills are now used for more than half of all abortions, a sign that reproductive health equity remains urgently needed.
Michele Pred's Abortion Is a Human Right on Miami Beach this week Photo by Misha Guseynov, Quality Media Photography & Videography
Pred has always engaged in explicitly political topics, in particular in response to the US Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v Wade. Last month, she curated 14 pro-abortion billboards erected in states that restrict the procedure. “I had a strong urge to respond on a national scale,” Pred tells The Art Newspaper. “And billboards are one of the best forms of public art because they’re viewable to so many people in so many places.”