Cryptic Female Choice refers to adaptations that allow female animals to exercise power over which sperm fertilize their eggs, even when the act of copulation is involuntary. Examples of cryptic female choice include the ability to stop ovulation, the ability selectively destroy sperm, and the ability to direct unwanted partners to mate with decoy reproductive organs. It is called cryptic because it is hidden.
OVUM
I was thinking about this phenomenon when I decided to mint one of my ova on the blockchain as a non-fungible token (NFT). My unique egg is now immortalized as an asset that I can exchange for cryptocurrency.
CRYPTO
Even though it's unpredictable, a lot of people in my generation think that cryptocurrency will play a role in the future. Now my ovum is forever entangled in three volatile economies: crypto, art, and reproductive labor.
VALUE
Around this time I also inherited some consumer goods left to me by my deceased grandparents in the USA. Relating to these objects made me think about the things we can pass down. Objects, skills, currency, stories, worlds. My world looks so different from the one my elders imagined for me. Some of the commodities that held value for their generation now seem absurd to mine.
SKILLS
I worry that I haven't been passed down the skills I need to survive the world I've been left. This is why I decided to try to use these heirlooms to learn landcare and survival skills. I watched the Youtuber Liziqi and the TV show Alone for inspiration. Some of the skills I learned from Back to Basics, a book I found in my grandfather's collection when I was a kid. Now, each object is embedded with a strange new value, that may or may not prove useful to the future.
Porcelain
Fur
Silver
Gold
CREDITS
Cryptic Female Choice is a project by Loren Kronemyer premiering at Dark Mofo 2022. Sound, music, and tech have been provided by hosting. Videography is by Joseph Shrimpton at Flare Productions. Our creative developer is Jonny Scholes.
The artists acknowledge the original and traditional owners of the lands around us, the muwinina and palawa. We pay respect to their elders across all times and recognise today's Tasmanian Aboriginal Families as custodians of lutruwita / Tasmania.