Mētra Saberova

Mētra Saberova is a younger generation feminist artist whose video and performance works focus on radical experiments with her body. Rather than creating harmony, her work raises pointed questions about the image, roles and rights of women in the modern world. Saberova believes that as well as consumer culture, glamour and the advertising industry which objectify the female body, the primary enemy of the modern feminist is the patriarchal model of life, culture and traditions which views women solely as a wife and housekeeper dependent on men.

Employing radical body art techniques, Saberova has undergone various medical tourism and body art procedures, including sterilisation in Thailand, hymenoplasty in Poland, in vitro fertilisation consultations in Bulgaria and full breast tattooing in Latvia. 

The work “You’re Not Getting Any” is a documental art object comprising invoices and test results connected with the artist’s hymenoplasty (surgical restoration of the hymen), as well as a blood-soaked fragment of a surgical pad used in the operation.  The artist believes the work draws attention to patriarchal stereotypes which compel women to alter their bodies to suit men’s “consumer needs.”

You’re Not Getting Any. 2016.