In an examination of bio-surveillance, UCLA professor and artist Lauren Lee McCarthy presents her exhibit, “Bodily Autonomy,” featuring two core works: “Surrogate” and “Saliva.” Brought to Fresno State by the Center for Creativity and the Arts, the exhibit is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, through Sept. 26 at the Phebe Conley Art Gallery.
An artist talk will be held at 4 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 11, in the Conley Arts building (Room 101), next to the gallery. A reception will follow at 5 p.m. in the adjoining courtyard and gallery.
“Saliva” is a series of performances, installations and videos that explores DNA sampling and data harvesting through the routine collection of swabs and saliva. The exhibit features a saliva exchange station where visitors can trade samples with one another, assisted by an attendant. The exchange examines bio-surveillance and data harvesting, challenges anonymity in data collection, encourages discussion on data privacy and prompts reflection on privacy and consent when personal identity is collected in data profiles. The saliva exchange is open every Wednesday from 4 to 6 p.m. during the exhibition and at the reception.
Initially commissioned in 2024 by the Mandeville Art Gallery at UC San Diego, the process sidesteps the anonymity of medical and corporate entities and invites active discussions on data privacy, race, gender and class as they pertain to genetic material.
“In the first saliva exchange in the Conley Art Gallery, I observed some really great social interactions between the saliva baristas and participants,” said Chris Lopez, director of the Center for Creativity and the Arts. “While the idea of exchanging saliva may seem unusual, I am struck by the sincerity of the audience’s involvement in this social experience.”
For “Surrogate,” McCarthy offers her body as a remote-controlled surrogate to individuals and couples interested in having a child.
“The parents could decide what I eat, what I do, when I sleep — having complete control over the body in which their baby is growing,” McCarthy states on her website.
While the proposition is never fully realized by the artist, through performances, videos and installations, she prompts important conversations regarding familial norms, legal barriers, genetic manipulation, gender and reproduction.
Together, “Surrogate” and “Saliva” prompt urgent questions about agency and control in networked society. McCarthy’s works reveal how algorithmic systems infiltrate our most intimate spaces — from reproduction to genetic data — challenging viewers to consider who builds these systems, whose values they prioritize and how marginalized communities become targets rather than beneficiaries.
McCarthy is an artist examining social relationships in the midst of surveillance, automation and algorithmic living. She is the creator of p5.js, an open-source creative coding platform that prioritizes inclusion and access. She has been recognized as a United States Artist Fellow, Sundance New Frontier Fellow, Eyebeam Fellow and Creative Capital Grantee.
The Center for Creativity and the Arts’ mission is to engage the public with the arts through dynamic, interdisciplinary programming that highlights local topics with global perspectives. Through art exhibitions, films, lectures, debates, theater and musical performances, the center aims to stimulate public engagement through inquiry, discussion and understanding.
“Bodily Autonomy” is sponsored by Creative Capital, and the exhibit at the Phebe Conley Art Gallery is sponsored by Fresno State Associated Students, Inc.
