Matrescence. Chapter 1: Pregnancy.
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Dates2023 - Ongoing
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Author
- Location Medellín, Colombia
This project is a visual narrative and personal interpretation of my experience and exploration of "matrescence" - the complex, transformative transition and multifaceted process into motherhood.
The transition to motherhood can be an ambiguous and unsettled space, often oversimplified or stigmatized by societal expectations and preconceptions. Through self-portraits, I live the questions and make meaning of my pregnancy. How do I feel with this body that is creating and carrying life? What is the symbiosis between this new life and who I am becoming? During this transition - What memories from my childhood are resurfacing? How am I relating to grief and loss? How is my relationship to the natural world evolving? What eco-awakenings are surfacing and calling my ecological self toward growth? What concerns am I experiencing about the future of humanity, and what are some possible growth-centered meanings of these challenges?
In my reflections, I have learned that pregnancy can be a moment of introspection and self-transparency, including levels of consciousness to grow emotionally, heal traumatic experiences from one's past, and connect with the opportunity to give language, space, and form to different paths forward.
These photographs intend to normalize conversations around matrescence and the transition to motherhood and amplify the multidimensional process unfolding at the level of the human experience, recognizing that each experience is unique and powerful.
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The term matrescence was first coined in the 70s by the anthropologist Dr. Dana Raphael and later revived by Dr. Aurélie Athan, clinical psychologist and professor at Columbia University.
