Mother Untitled is an experimental, multimedia work, reflecting on my personal experience with motherhood.
My journey into motherhood was chaotic and flooded with mixed feelings to which I had so many questions and few answers—spiralling from blissful happiness to fear and doubt about my instincts to care for another human being. With days of total inspiration followed by extreme anxiety over the monotony of domestic life. Adapting to a new body and identity was overwhelmingly unexpected and I found myself questioning why I am not happy. Why do I feel dazed like I am in a surreal dream? And why do I feel like the only woman feeling this way?
To create this body of work I’ve stepped away from my comfort zone, emotionally and as an artist. Much of my work uses a documental approach to other people’s lives. I became the subject of my portraits with the camera representing the world to whom I perform my uneasiness to achieve expectations that are not mine and the resulting loss of identity.
I also wanted to experiment with using textiles - a material deeply connected to women and the domestic realm - as the medium for storytelling.
Finally, this work’s intent is to reflect on the traditional representations of the mother and question the myths, and the romanticised narratives and bring to light the taboos around motherhood to understand how they influence perceptions and expectations about the role of women in the 21st century.
