The Motherhood Battle - final presentation
Monotone pastel and graphite sketches of myself and my baby daughter on translucent sheets that hang in space, roughly sewn together they partially obscure/reveal two large drawings of my two children. Alongside this is a projection of breastfeeding within the confines of an antique camera’s viewfinder, while another projection falls off into the void and onto the wall behind creating layered visuals that shift and change as the viewer moves around the space, their body becoming a part of the work as the projections move across them, and the banners sway in the breeze created by their movement. At the rear the work reveals a child’s drawing of a rainbow, family, and two sisters in a field of flowers. A folded catalogue of works printed in risograph colours unfolds to reveal a photographic essay on the rear, a small treasure to possess.
The unfolded catalogue of works - printed on Risograph with teal and fluro orange inks
The rear side of the catalogue folds out to an A3 poster - merged photographic images of me breastfeeding Billie
I have always been drawn to create works that speak of the internal landscape of emotional, mental and spiritual layers. Monotone palettes, particularly greys and blacks have always spoken to me and I’ve used them a lot in my work. Initially as black and white photographic landscapes, more recently in painted portraits. There is an element of bleakness/serenity (duality) which I identify with on an emotional level. I am also enjoying the simplicity it brings, the focus on tone and form.
A side view of the banners shows how little physical weight they hold, yet the presented work has a strong presence
Motherhood has been a transformative event that has created demands on all parts of myself and I’m continually bemused and amused by the dualities that exist within relationships, within moments, within myself. I’ve found there is a physicality in this first year of mothering a child that is without comparison to anything else I’ve experienced. I hope to convey something of this experience of intimacy, lack of personal boundaries, endurance, and altered sense of self in all forms. This work is an exploration of what it means to be a mother, but of course more deeply on who I am as a mother, as Mum to these beautiful creatures now 12 months old, and 5 years old.