I will not give you birth / From one mother to another.

I Will Not Give You Birth is an ongoing photography series that explores the relationships between women, both between mothers and daughters, sisters, and friends, as well as themes of energy flow between women, the sense of belonging and mutual support.

Central to the series I Will Not Give You Birth is an exploration of my personal fantasies around motherhood. I am weaving fantasies not only about being the mother to my nieces and nephews, but also about assuming the role of a caretaker in relation to my mother as she ages, thus becoming her mother. In the series I want to raise questions around both the societal expectations attached to womanhood and the roles we inhabit, and also the importance of the support we find in connections with other women. 

The work also reflects on the experience of sickness and the profound changes it brings—an abrupt end to fertility and the unfolding of a new, postmenopausal phase, which I have experienced recently. This shift, marked by both loss and renewal, becomes a space where self care, holding space for other women, and mutual support between the women in my life become very important. 

Through I Will Not Give You Birth, I aim to create a visual narrative about the multilayered experiences of womanhood, motherhood, and the joy of reimagined roles, but also the inevitability of solitude in major life experiences and roles women have in their lives. I want to create a visual diary of the bonds between women and the transformative power of supportive circles that women form. Through the act of caregiving one becomes the mother to other women who need to be held in the times of joy and sorrow.