Well Done, Carry On, Make It Better
These quotes are taken from Family Circle magazine (1972), praising women for their “natural” caretaking role in the home; an identity ascribed by patriarchy, that has been re-imposed on many mothers 50 years later, under the swathe of the pandemic. These pieces are produced on kitchen roll; a material repetitively used to mop up messes and readily discarded, the nature of which is representative of the increased housework mothers have absorbed into their new daily lives, so easily dismissed by others. The use of children's letters serves as a nod to the current home-schooling tasks many have also taken on and the cleanliness of these, leaving those words so hard to see, speaks to the invisibility of many aspects of maternal labour, imprinted with a fragility that is reminiscent of the those overwhelmed by these unprecedented extra burdens.
And yet by framing and presenting these, the sentiment of the quotes can be re-appropriated today to celebrate the resourcefulness of mother artists who are still creating in this difficult time. Like other mothers who are simultaneously struggling on with their professional lives or who have been forced to partially or fully rescind this for caring duties, today’s mother artists are continually balancing home making and art making and making do. This salutes those who create in any way they can, when they can, using whatever is at their disposal, often producing art from the disorder and domestic detritus of their current daily lives.
Well done to all those mums who carry on the good work (whatever work that may be) and basically, make everything better!
These pieces were produced for an exhibition at Spilt Milk, "If Not Now, When?", presenting the work of over 40 international women and non-binary artists who identify as mothers, launched on International Women’s Day (March 8th) 2021. Part one of the exhibition explored the impact of the pandemic on mothers’ emotional, physical and psychological wellbeing, while part two is a call-to-action toward a post-pandemic world free of oppression.
https://www.spiltmilkgallery.com/exhibitions/if-not-now-when
And yet by framing and presenting these, the sentiment of the quotes can be re-appropriated today to celebrate the resourcefulness of mother artists who are still creating in this difficult time. Like other mothers who are simultaneously struggling on with their professional lives or who have been forced to partially or fully rescind this for caring duties, today’s mother artists are continually balancing home making and art making and making do. This salutes those who create in any way they can, when they can, using whatever is at their disposal, often producing art from the disorder and domestic detritus of their current daily lives.
Well done to all those mums who carry on the good work (whatever work that may be) and basically, make everything better!
These pieces were produced for an exhibition at Spilt Milk, "If Not Now, When?", presenting the work of over 40 international women and non-binary artists who identify as mothers, launched on International Women’s Day (March 8th) 2021. Part one of the exhibition explored the impact of the pandemic on mothers’ emotional, physical and psychological wellbeing, while part two is a call-to-action toward a post-pandemic world free of oppression.
https://www.spiltmilkgallery.com/exhibitions/if-not-now-when
