The Mother project- Call for subjects
As a young child growing up, my mother had a mental break down that tore my family apart. After this event she never returned to the mother I knew as a child and I had to accept this completely new person, who externally and physically was still my mother, but emotionally was as much as a stranger as anyone else.
After her emotional collapse I was forced to learn to take care of myself and had to grow up seemingly overnight. My mother was no longer able to care for a young child, and I, as a young child, had to care for her. Alone, living with my mother, I witnessed firsthand the emotional and illogical roller coaster her illness caused.
Now, as an adult I’m faced with many questions about mother - child relationships. The biggest one being, why our mothers love us. Is the bond of “love” more than a word, or genetic obligation but of true actionable emotion?
If you are alive today, that means we all experienced the same path of coming into existence. Every human being and creature on this planet has, at some point lived inside another, in complete dependence on their care for survival. Yet none of us remember that journey, none of us have memories of living inside another human for 9 months. It’s a one way perspective. So what happens from the point of gestation to adulthood to the relationship with our mothers? With our mothers relationship to us? Is birth enough of a reason to love and bond?
Science has already proven the nature vs nurture debate, and I think we’ve all been able to witness that through adopted families as well.
So if the mother - child bond is not genetic, then is it a choice? Do mothers love their children because they choose to everyday? Does that mean that the “love” switch can be turned on or off if that child ends up not being what you expected or does something unspeakable.
I don’t know where this journey will take me, but to truly get an in depth and full view, I have to also look behind the curtain. Into the lives of families with littles means, indigenous tribes, the middle class and the affluent, a like. Talking to mother who have lost children and mothers who have chosen to give up a child. All to answer this one question ”Why do mothers love their children?”
After her emotional collapse I was forced to learn to take care of myself and had to grow up seemingly overnight. My mother was no longer able to care for a young child, and I, as a young child, had to care for her. Alone, living with my mother, I witnessed firsthand the emotional and illogical roller coaster her illness caused.
Now, as an adult I’m faced with many questions about mother - child relationships. The biggest one being, why our mothers love us. Is the bond of “love” more than a word, or genetic obligation but of true actionable emotion?
If you are alive today, that means we all experienced the same path of coming into existence. Every human being and creature on this planet has, at some point lived inside another, in complete dependence on their care for survival. Yet none of us remember that journey, none of us have memories of living inside another human for 9 months. It’s a one way perspective. So what happens from the point of gestation to adulthood to the relationship with our mothers? With our mothers relationship to us? Is birth enough of a reason to love and bond?
Science has already proven the nature vs nurture debate, and I think we’ve all been able to witness that through adopted families as well.
So if the mother - child bond is not genetic, then is it a choice? Do mothers love their children because they choose to everyday? Does that mean that the “love” switch can be turned on or off if that child ends up not being what you expected or does something unspeakable.
I don’t know where this journey will take me, but to truly get an in depth and full view, I have to also look behind the curtain. Into the lives of families with littles means, indigenous tribes, the middle class and the affluent, a like. Talking to mother who have lost children and mothers who have chosen to give up a child. All to answer this one question ”Why do mothers love their children?”
call for subjects
I have so many questions on this topic and photography is the way I process the world and emotion. So with my camera in hand, I want to embark on a journey to answer all of these questions and more.
The purpose of The Mother Project is to understand this idea of a mother's love, by taking a documentarian look at mothers and their children, capturing their interactions from all social dynamics and family make ups, in order to understand, witness and hopefully feel what “a mother’s love” truly means.
The purpose of The Mother Project is to understand this idea of a mother's love, by taking a documentarian look at mothers and their children, capturing their interactions from all social dynamics and family make ups, in order to understand, witness and hopefully feel what “a mother’s love” truly means.
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To participate in The Mother Project, please use the form and share a bit about your experience.
Participation in this series will include an interview and a photographs. Mothers can participate anonymously as well. Right now I am looking for mothers who would like to participate in the documentary. That entails photographs where I spend a day, just any normal day photographing your interaction with your children, completely candid. And at some point sitting down with you and asking you some questions about your experience, thoughts and feelings on being a mother which will be recorded. This will be a long running project taking me around the world and back and will develop with each story and interaction I have with mothers around the world. There is a Project Release form that I will need from participants. You can read it here I'm hoping that each story and photograph will come together to share a bigger story of motherhood, family, love and forgiveness. If you are interested in participating, please let me know and we can set a date. Please let me know should you have any questions. |
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