Postpartum Self Portraits II
2022 - ongoing
Part of my ongoing series of self portraiture, exploring my identity after having children, and my experience raising a girl today. I’m reflecting on how she brought me more in touch with my own femininity and how I have a deeper appreciation for myself and my feminine side. All things unicorn, mermaid and Barbie etc is infiltrating our lives. She’s obsessed with princess dresses and mermaid outfits and wants all things pink and purple. I want her to just enjoy it and express herself how she wants to and it is really amazing how she lights up when she wears a beautiful dress. The nostalgia of it has brought me in touch with the little girl I used to be, equally as excited about barbie and my little pony and makes me reflect on how quickly this changed to a struggle of never feeling like I fit the stereotypical picture of a what a girl is meant to be. I remember clearly how my brother made fun of me and my dolls and how it influenced me to think its weak or stupid to be girly. I believe this is reflected in society, and girls ofter start rejecting their femininity as a result. Recently I have started to include some polaroid's of myself and of my daughter in the series, I love the idea of polaroid's ability of capturing memories, something that is so fleeting when raising children. The tangibility of the printed polaroid picture also adds a physicality to the series for me. The self portraits are symbolic expressions of my emotions the pictures of her capture the time in space with her, the memory.
