Love Shit

Love Shit (FW: Books, 2025) deals with the dilemmas surrounding reproduction: (un)desired pregnancy, motherhood, and childhood itself, which together reveal the complexities of womanhood. For two-and-a-half years, Verena photographed pregnant people at different stages of pregnancy in several European countries where the abortion law is restricted or illegal. The photographs are combined with stories, anecdotes, and observations she wrote while working at a Dutch abortion clinic, alongside her own reflections around the complexities of motherhood and intimacy. The portraits of pregnant people are interwoven with close-up shots of toys, kissing teenagers, and children playing outside. The latter images form the red thread of the publication, embodying and symbolizing the past and future of being born through a woman’s body, and the patriarchal policies that are placed upon them. The title of the book was inspired by the drawing on the cover by five-year-old Sadie, daughter of the artist Kate Cooper. 

Design by Sandra Kassenaar

Introduction by Rodante van der Waal

Available through Idea Books, Fw:Books, or please email me directly. Price 37, 50 EUR