The Nipple Project is a community based craft and art collaboration that began in 2006. We (Jennifer Baylis and Andrea M. Dominguez) were two friends working at the Orange County Museum of Art who wanted to embark on a large-scale craft/art project. After spotting an ad for the Victoria’s Secret IPEX bra that claimed it provided “maximum nipple coverage,” we thought it was hilarious that a bra was developed to cover a part of the body everyone shared. This bra epitomizes the eradication and androgenization of the nipple. We found this ironic in an era where breast augmentation is done in order to gain “a more feminine look." So we wanted to reclaim our natural femininity and counter this strange phenomenon. Thus, The Nipple Project was born. We decided to put a call out for handcrafted nipples of all media that would be displayed in a group installation.
Women and men alike sent in their artistic interpretations of the nipple. The submissions ranged from elegant to quirky, traditional to bizarre. But as the project came to life, we realized we had touched something deeper. Some women submitted for reasons we had not expected. We began receiving submissions from breast cancer survivors, and also from women who lost a family member or friend to breast cancer. They took this opportunity to express their grief and show respect to their loved ones. In addition, breastfeeding mothers created nipples inspired by the joys and rigors of nursing! Participants submitted nearly 200 nipples from around the world, from countries such as Poland, Australia, Ireland, Korea and more.
In June 2008, we were a part of a group exhibition, "Enclosed, Encased and Enrobed" at the Orange County Center for Contemporary Art in Santa Ana, CA. The exhibition featured all these handcrafted nipples on bras that lined the entire gallery room wall.
