Mothership
Claire Dossey
The narrative of women has been dictated by a history written by men, reducing them to their reproductive organs—defined by the womb, vulva, and ability to bear life. Patriarchy confines women within these biological boundaries and engineers a world serving men’s interests, rendering women’s experiences fractured and alien. How do women exist in a world they did not create? How does misogyny shape how they are viewed—and how they view themselves?
Mothership explores these questions through sci-fi themes, using conceptual videos and written analysis to examine the constructed nature of womanhood. Influenced by A Cyborg Manifesto by Donna Haraway and theories on the Body Without Organs (BWO), this project considers the body as a contested space—manipulated, controlled, and assigned meaning by external forces. Just as capitalism and government manufactures false realities, patriarchy fabricates women’s existence, reducing their autonomy and scripting their roles.
The project’s videos—Rabbit Catcher, Body Politics, and The Engineer—visually deconstruct patriarchal narratives. The interplay of red and black-and-white visuals, alongside machine-like structures, reinforces the idea of womanhood as engineered rather than inherently lived.
This book deepens the analysis through collages and reflections, serving as both a visual essay and an extension of the videos. By merging speculative aesthetics with critical discourse, Mothership seeks to dismantle synthetic structures defining womanhood and explore reclaiming an autonomous, lived experience beyond patriarchal history.