First You Are Mothered is currently on exhibit at Sanchez Art Center in Pacifica, California, and seeks to explore the individual and collective value that we place on the work of caring. Utilizing the experience and language of motherhood, the cycles of giving and receiving care are examined through a feminine genealogy (First You Are Mothered, Mother As Home, My Grandmother’s Table), and play within two of our cultures most highly valued realms : religion and capitalism. Unable to measure my productivity as a mother with accolades, pay raises or promotions, I recorded various acts of care for the 4th Quarter of 2021, in effort to quantity output : every meal prepared, boo-boo kissed, lost item that I found and each time I took my son back to bed in the middle of the night (Vessels For Holding). And while the priest carries out the sacraments of baptism, eucharist and anointing of the sick with much pomp, circumstance and witness, the mother carries out similar practices on a daily basis. Does the value that we assign the work differ depending on who is providing or receiving the care? What are the variables that make one act holy and another simply the day’s duty. At which point does routine become ritual? At which point does our caring become sacred?
Gridded photographs alongside methodically crafted ceramic pieces echo the unceasing rhythms of care. Our survival is contingent upon the nurture that we receive yet we’ve grown accustomed to extracting what is necessary without reciprocating (Mother Earth , My Body Broken For You). The viewer is invited to witness the work that is done largely behind closed doors – either because it is impossible to measure or perhaps because in meeting the very physical needs of another we are confronted with our own mortality and limitations – and given the opportunity to remember the care they have given and received themselves. The serpent (at one time a symbol for feminine wisdom and seen as an umbilical cord connecting us to the earth), is reclaimed in A Rib For Every Woman. Made up of 325+ hand sculpted pieces, one for each woman who has positively influenced my journey thus far, to celebrate our interconnectedness and offer a reminder that small acts of caring will create a ripple effect for our collective well being. The show runs through May 15th, 2022.
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