Construction of the work
There are key elements to my work, which bind it together. Firstly, I focus
on the relationship between mother and child from the perspective of the mother.
In order to contexualise my work, I examine the works of artists who deal specifically
with that relationship : artists such as Mary Kelly, Cindy Sherman, Louise Bourgeois,
Mona Hatoum and Frida Kahlo. Secondly, I am interested in surfacing the abject
of that relationship and focus on Fiona Hall, Paul Quinn, Gregory Crewdson,
Joel-Peter Witkin, and Francis Bacon who deal with the abject in general without
any obvious reference to the mother. However, I do so through an investigation
of the maternal abject.
My work is in two parts. The first part consists primarily of photographic images,
which have been scanned, layered and manipulated on a computer using Photoshop.
Each layer represents an idea or a reference. The layers are then merged together
in one image in order to create a dense landscape of visual dialogue.
The second part consists of baby-related furniture, in this case a bassinet,
which I have pierced with thousands of pearl-head pins. A bassinet is used to
symbolise the relationship between the mother and her baby. The bassinet is
the first piece of furniture designated for the baby when first born. It is
a symbol for the woman having entered motherhood and therefore it is loaded
with preconceptions as well as misconceptions about the series of events, which
take place at the bassinet site.
As a result, my work consists of the construction of layered images and an intensely
worked object. The thousands of sharp pins tend to threaten the fragility of
the photographic images and therefore symbolise again an abject relationship
.
©2001 Mireille Astore