Strangers in a Strange Land: Envisioning the darker side of motherhood

Maternity is often idealized within society, where motherhood ‘myths’ paint unachievable pictures of maternal perfection and blissful union with baby. This thesis and studio-based artwork look behind the mask of maternal perfection, at what real women have said and shown of their actual experiences of maternity. The research examines the darker side of motherhood, and how this has been depicted. Through picture-making, I find new visual forms for maternity, based on the metaphor of journeying to connect with baby, and on the use of collage to give visual form to the disruption of the status quo for the woman-mother