This piece of work concept deals with the loss of a mother figure and abandonment. It was brought about through a real life bereavement, which resulted in me seeking both a presence and a place of safety. The female human form plays a massive part in my work. The construction of this piece consisted of the act of sewing myself inside a skin like membrane of latex. This act is about trying to regain a maternal space of safety, protection, comfort and with the idea of the chora, which is tied to feminist theories of the bridge between mother and daughter. Latex was chosen because of its resemblance to skin and its connotation of medical procedures of giving birth and just for its aesthetics. To me materials are a language and in this case my body was an important medium and narrative.
This piece is hung in a womb like form and projected onto it is a video piece featuring the performance of sewing myself into the womb-like sculpture and footage taken from my nana’s house. Going to her house has many parallels with the performance as it is a home filled with childhood memories, and it preserves that feeling of a mother’s presence. Everything is ongoing- it doesn’t stop until we do- and this is a theme of my work. Even though death stops a life in one form, a person still continues in other forms, in memories, memorabilia and relics, which is what my project has tried to capture.
The death of the mother figure has left this place empty and different; just as I have shaken off this latex cocoon, leaving it empty; entering and being here inhabiting this space and then having to leave. Projecting my feelings onto something that is an object or a place is the way my idea has materialized in both aspects of this piece. The house itself is full of objects, which are preserved in the memory, and the latex is kept as a reminder of what has taken place and the experience of being in this space. These are the feelings I am left with- emptiness and unease, as I have no place to go.
