As many women in America go to college, get careers, then finally think about children, the age-old “biological clock” may seem to be off-kilter. Prime female fertility occurs in early to mid-twenties, but that doesn’t mean women are ready to start families. Human instinct and society clash, resulting in a scary, confusing question for many women: “How much time do I have left?”
Mira Kaddoura, former senior art director at W+K, has created the “first downloadable biological clock” to face this question head-on. The Wonder Clock is a conceptual creation meant to stimulate conversation around childbearing. When a woman buys the app (unfortunately $1.99), she will enter her birth date and then see a pink and purple clock counting down the years, months, days, hours, minutes and seconds she has left to procreate. One of the app’s customer reviews says, “Like it or not, this app will make your feel something.” In its simplicity, it leaves room for each user to discover their own emotions surrounding childbirth.
The Wonder Clock’s name is artfully ambiguous. Instead of a tense countdown, it instigates more a sense of curiosity. What could happen as this clock counts down? Maybe children, but also self-empowerment, innovation and exploration. This app brings an ever-present pressure to light while implicitly encouraging women to fill their lives with their individual wants and needs.
Kaddoura officially launched The Wonder Clock yesterday at Art Basel’s Art Parcours night in Switzerland. It’s downloadable at the App Store and can be tracked through Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. What reactions will arise as more people learn this project? We wonder.