A portrait of a Mother as a Person

This work is a development of A Mother’s Evolution: Through Body and Mind (2024), extending the artist’s ongoing exploration of identity in the context of motherhood. Taking inspiration from Femisto’s A Portrait of the Artist as a Housewife—a poster created for the Women’s Postal Event (1975–1979)—the artist reimagines the original through a personal lens. Using her own MRI scans, she constructs a nine-piece grid as an internal portrait, symbolising the layered, often fragmented experience of maternal identity. She uses the inherent layering effect of MRI scans not only to reveal the psychological and emotional depth of this transition, but also to reflect on interdisciplinarity—drawing connections between science, art, and lived experience. By playing with the original title, the artist draws attention to the interpenetrating roles women navigate when becoming mothers, while still actively pursuing a creative career. The work questions how identity is shaped not only by social expectations but by the complex and evolving interior landscape of the maternal body and mind.