Ode to OVA (aka. OOVA), site-specific installation, 2023

-a popping-fun, interactive art installation on ova and radical self-acceptance

“Before we became us, we were ova. Each of us came from a simple egg cell that underwent years of rigorous development in order to transform itself into the complex and unique being we are today. Ode to OVA (aka. OOVA) invites us to reflect upon this journey of personal growth, and participate in a collective ritual of radical gratitude and self-acceptance. In doing so, we celebrate and take pride in who we are becoming, and in those who will inherit our legacy.

Ode to Ova is originally commissioned by Big Little Theatre to accompany their theatrical production of Miranda Rose Hall’s “Menstruation” play.

This interactive installation pays homage to the ova’s journey through the reproductive cycle by using latex egg balloons. Participants take part in every single step of the process: from growing their balloon ova with air, to decorating them with hand-written DNA codes of gratitude, to implanting these egg cells onto the inner walls of the womb space. Over the one month period of exhibition, each ovum will deflate and shed from the wall lining in its own time, making space for another to be implanted and for the cycle of gratitude to start anew. 

In giving thanks to all the goods or ills that made us who we are today, we make peace with past wounds. This paves the way to compassionate understanding of our current selves, allowing us to come home to our own body and identity—one that is free from reductive legal and cultural definitions of reproduction.

OOVA is an ode to all of us, to the individual lives we’ve led as well as the civilization we’re building together. Each of us is an ovum: a source of life, a gift that keeps on giving, an essential participant in the birth of an ever brighter, kinder world. “ - Yeu Q Nguyen

Upcoming OOVA events:

  • Installation Day—Tuesday March 14 12-2pm at the LA LGBT Center’s Advocate and Gochis Galleries. We’re looking for art volunteers to help us make balloon garlands for the installation! Sign-up using the form button below.

  • Opening Reception + Activation Workshop - Saturday March 18 Reception 5-8PM + Workshop 7pm at the LA LGBT Center’s Advocate and Gochis Galleries 1125 N McCadden Place West Hollywood, CA 90038. Participate in a mindful activation workshop led by artist Yeu Q Nguyen and interact with the installation by making your own ovum of gratitude and self-acceptance.

About the artist:

Born in Saigon and immigrated to the US as a teenager, Yeu "Q" Nguyen is multidisciplinary artist based in Los Angeles, best known for her vibrant, interactive installations and intricately crafted objects rich in cultural symbolism and social empathy. Her expansive repertoire of works have appeared at notable venues such as the Autry's SouthWest Museum, the Orange County Center for Contemporary Art, the Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, the Armory Center for the Arts, and featured in the LA Times.

Her community engagement projects on empathy and resilience, such as Weaving Hope and Empathy Table, have won support from national art foundations and regional initiatives such as the Puffin Foundation and the Foundation for Contemporary Arts.

Q is also a published poet, curator, art educator, and guest speaker. She adores cats, audiobooks, and the great outdoors. To learn more about Q’s projects, visit www.yeuqart.com and Instagram @yeuqart