Home

For thousands of years, because of her awesome ability to spew forth a child, the mother has been feared and revered. She has been the subject of taboos and witch-hunts, mandatory pregnancy and conferment in a separate sphere. She has endured appalling insults and perpetual marginalization. She has also been the subject of glorious painting, chivalry and idealization. Through it all she has rarely been consulted. She is an object, not a subject. - Shari L. Thurer This work examines and analyzes the intense and fiercely close relationship I share with my mother. Within my eccentric upbringing, “home” was never clearly defined. Throughout my life, my mother has always been my constant—my one safe place where I find acceptance and belonging. My mother is my home. This work investigates the concepts of motherhood, family dynamics, home and how these ideals pertain to my own family experiences and memories. The act of photographing my mother has become a ritual—a process of creating artwork in order to understand the emotional states enveloping our intricate connection. Anxiety and tenderness fuse together, creating a complex relationship where boundaries and normalcy are regularly challenged. Visually, this work functions as evidence that begins to tell a story of a mother and daughter. Within this process, my mother and I learn from one another and our painful history in order to rewrite our own brand of personal truth and creating a body of work, where our private moments become artifacts for public viewing. You bear witness to an understanding; a private language between mother and daughter where each party has assumed the role of an artist, and where the concept of home is finally understood.