An Artist Residency in Motherhood, Winter 2022

It has been almost two years since the pandemic began. When I look back at photographs from 2020, it seems like a lifetime ago. My son was two years old then. Now he is four, a vastly different stage in his life. So much has happened in these two years, and yet everything seems to have paused. It feels reductive to say that it’s been a rough two years being a parent and an artist; it’s been rough for everyone in one way or another. I am blurry-eyed, tired to the bone, and frayed at the edges. But I’ve also been transformed for the better by the time I’ve spent with my child.

My work has felt the impact of the pandemic. For the first few months, my studio practice was at a standstill. I was between studios and exhausted by the long days. I then got the keys to the studio, but it took a while to gain access and move all my things. Everything took more time than usual, and long gaps between work sessions emerged before my eyes. By the spring of 2021, it was clear that I had to adapt to the situation. It seemed impossible to consider working at night after a full day with my son, not to mention that I was also exhibiting and teaching regularly, and doing all the ancillary work that artists do. All I wanted to do was throw a blanket over myself. But I made a start and began working in the studio four nights a week. These night shifts in the studio have now become something I look forward to, no matter how much I manage to do.

A few months ago, I began working on a new body of work called ‘A Wedge of Darkness.’ The title comes from Virginia Woolf’s ‘To the Lighthouse.’ This collection builds on the work I have been doing for many years. It’s been in the works for a while, but I began articulating my thoughts only recently. Given the fragmented nature of my studio practice, I have decided to do a two-month long self-directed residency. Unlike a regular residency I will be working in my studio given all the current uncertainties of the pandemic. I will be doing this residency under the auspices of ‘An Artist Residency in Motherhood,’ created by Lenka Clayton. The ARiM aims to be “…a self-directed, open-source artist residency to empower and inspire artists who are also mothers.” This residency seems apt given the circumstances. I am looking forward to this residency even though uncertainty looms. I hope this to be an opportunity to inhabit a different state of mind after almost two years of being in a state of flux. Will this residency spark new connections and forge the way ahead? I hope it will.