The toll motherhood takes on women's mental health, career development and personal identity is all around us - through emerging literature and rhetoric, the current UK childcare crisis, the 'motherhood penalty' and data showing the divergence of career paths for men and women post-baby.
(M)OTHER Exhibition is a series of large scale charcoal portraits and working drawings of 4 Mothers, plus myself, that explore the difficult thoughts and challenging emotions that accompany becoming a mother. A project completed after a Summer of conversations, observations and sittings.
Each Mother was at a different place in their 'Matrescence', or Motherhood journey, when I drew them.
Shared life experiences, and connected moments between myself and each woman are the backbone of this exhibition.
We have orbited each other over the years and now suddenly all find ourselves in the same place - as women navigating our own mental health, future ambitions, career changes and a changing world, all through the lens of Motherhood.
The aim of this exhibition is -
To highlight how powerful creative expression is for mental health.
To demonstrate how uplifting it can be to see a woman spotlighting other women through her art.
To encourage us all to reflect on how our society presents the concept of motherhood in particular to the next generation of women, and to make sure we are having open and honest conversations about the reality of the experience.
Thank you to Sara, Holly, Laura & Gwyneth for giving your precious time to this project.
This exhibition is dedicated to all Mothers.
(M)OTHER Exhibition Photography by Jo Ritchie