Vulva Casting: Getting your own vulva casted

Have your own vulva casted and then place it as decoration in your home? That’s exactly what Viki has been making possible since March 2020! She is the face behind Vulvarium and offers vulva castings, meaning replicas of the vulva. With Vulvarium she combines her ideals, crafts and talents to contribute to making people with vulvas feel more comfortable in their own bodies. She lives in Austria, but also travels and tours with Vulvarium from time to time to offer the possibility of vulva casting to as many people as possible and to celebrate vulva diversity. In the interview she tells us about her work, gives us an insight into vulva casting and tells us what she finds particularly beautiful about it. Thank you dear Viki for making diversity visible with your unique vulva statutes.

Welcome an please introduce yourself.

My name is Viktoria Krug, I am 27 years old and I come from Carinthia, a beautiful province in the south of Austria. I have a bachelor’s degree in biology and I am a future teacher for the subjects biology and English, because it is important to me to pass on my love for nature and people to the next generation.
I spend my free time since March 2020 with everything that has to do with Vulvarium. But when I’m not making vulva statues, I’m painting or crafting something else, reading dystopias, cooking vegan curries, or planning the next trip in a customized van. Other than that, I like justice and people who say and do something when it’s necessary. And I like love. Love is awesome. 

How did you get the idea to do vulva casting?

I was sitting in bed with my boyfriend, both on our phones, when I stumbled across an artist on Instagram doing similar work regarding vulva anatomy. I almost jumped to the ceiling in shock when I realized that I knew basically nothing about the diversity of vulvas – even though I’ve owned one myself for 27 years! When I then showed my boyfriend countless different pictures of vulvas over the course of 15 minutes, highly impressed and shocked, he said at some point, quite annoyed, “Viki, I know what they look like. I’ve seen a few.” At that moment, we both realized that I only knew my own vulva. And that he, as a man, knew much more about my sexual organ than I did. And that’s when I thought to myself, “Hey, this can’t be happening. There’s a problem here. I have to solve it.” A week later, my statue was ready and Vulvarium was on its way.

What has your journey been like from the idea to your current product?

Through the beautiful experience with my own vulva as a statue, I realized that its presence does a lot of good to me and my self-esteem. And of course I wish that for every person. That’s why I posted my thoughts about vulva casting on two social media platforms. In a flash, a wave of inquiries swept over me. From then on, everything happened quite fast. Getting from the idea to the current offer was not easy and requires long days and hardly any breaks. But I love what I do. With every satisfied customer my motivation and energy grows. I still have so much to do. The current offer is just the beginning. Stay tuned. 

What has been the most beautiful moment for you so far during vulva casting?

The list of beautiful moments is very long. At every single session something happens that moves me or gives me goosebumps. All these moments are beautiful. One moment that I have very present right now was the audio from a stranger Instagram follower recently. She explained to me in a very honest and vulnerable, yet incredibly brave and strong way that she has now decided against vulva lip surgery after all. She had found my site and my work. And the many statues have shown her that she is normal and beautiful. And she wants to thank me for that. When I hear something like that, I always take a minute to feel and process. And then I get right back to work, knowing that there are still many womxn out there who need to be reached. 

What do you particularly like about your work?

I love that I come into contact with so many different people. I have teenagers to retirees, people who live their sexuality freely in polyamory or open relationships, and womxn who are very religious or have had the same partner for years. People who want to celebrate their vulva and others who have had bad experiences and want to work through them have been coming. People who have a vulva but are not women and people who do not define themselves at all. Couples as well as girlfriends, mothers, daughters and grandmas. And each one of these people is lovable in a unique way.

Through vulva casting, I am reminded daily that the world is full of incredibly amazing people. And if you just take the time to get to know each other, you realize that so much more connects us than separates us. There’s a potential lying dormant in us as a society, I’m getting goosebumps again. With each new customer I am reminded of all this and now I wander the streets, look at the people coming towards me and think to myself: you must be a wonderful person.

Photo Credits: Claudia Plattner / Träumerherz Fotografie 

What is your personal hope for your work?

My wish is that we finally stop investing our energy in our appearance and use it instead for more important things – things that fulfill us and make us happy. And that womxn can finally talk openly about their desires, feelings and problems related to the vulva. I don’t claim that vulva statues will make every womxn forget all self-doubt and flaws overnight. Because this is a process that takes longer. However, I promise that the statue is a huge step in the right direction. In the meantime, I know that my work helps womxn feel better about themselves. And therefore I hope that together we can reach as many people as possible with this message. 

What are the reactions when you talk about vulva casting?

The reactions are different, but very rarely negative. Most people, male* as well as female*, are immediately enthusiastic and want a statue themselves. Then there are a few who are a little surprised or caught off guard. These are usually people who have never dealt with the subject themselves and therefore don’t really want to get into it at that moment due to their lack of knowledge. It is exactly for these people that it is incredibly important that they get the input about vulva casting, as this is the only way they can find and get rid of their “blind spot”. Once the seed is sown, there is no turning back. It is not uncommon for exactly such people to sit in front of me on the sofa a few weeks later and tell me how much they are now looking forward to their own statue.

What do you find particularly exciting about exploring the diversity of the vulva?

Everything. I find everything exciting. The diversity here includes not only the anatomy but also many other topics, such as menstruation, sexuality, pregnancy and health. And every person with a vulva has their own experiences in this regard. This is a world that is not even close to being fully explored, and this despite the fact that approximately 4.5 billion people worldwide have a vulva. And here we are again at the word “potential”. The space upwards is endless and so slowly something is happening: The female* world is ready and is coming together. It doesn’t get more exciting than this. 

Photo Credits: Claudia Plattner / Träumerherz Fotografie 

Why should more people do vulva casting?

Because of the different experiences and sensations, each person has a different, very personal why. But if I have to be brief, my answer would be simple: It helps people feel more comfortable in their own bodies. Be it the person who has a statue made, or the person who looks through the gallery of photos of statues at home. In the end, everyone realizes that every vulva is different and yet normal and beautiful. By the way, you can find a more detailed answer to this question on my website. There I have listed my “Top 8 reasons why vulva casting is important”. 

Anything else you’d like to share?

„You can cut all the flowers but you cannot keep spring from coming.”“ – Pablo Neruda