Publication Date

Spring 2026

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Fine Arts

Department

Art

First Advisor

Gerald Slowik

Second Advisor

Ryan Park

Third Advisor

Heather M. Penn

Fourth Advisor

Deborah James

Abstract

Unseen Motherhood is a series of photographs that shows what first-time motherhood is really like, starting with pregnancy and going through birth and everything after. I did not want to just show the happy or perfect moments. I wanted to capture the hard parts, the big feelings, and how much a person's identity can change.

There are eighteen black-and-white photographs in this series, all showing my twin sister as she goes through becoming a mother. These images follow her before, during, and after birth. I wanted to show that motherhood is more than just one happy photograph.

I based this project on research about maternal health, how motherhood is shown in culture, and the history of photography. I noticed that mothers were often made invisible, both in the past and now. In the nineteenth century, there was something called the "hidden mother phenomenon", where mothers were in the photograph but not really seen. Even today, people usually pay attention to the baby and forget about the mother right after birth.

I also learned of ideas from anthropology, like Victor Turner's idea of liminality. He says birth is a process of change, not just one event. Research on postpartum health shows that mothers keep facing challenges and feeling vulnerable long after the baby is both. Looking at photographer Elinor Carucci's family photographs inspired me to focus on closeness, small gestures, and real emotions in my own images. I chose black and white because it helps me pay more attention to shape, textures, and how people were feeling, instead of being distracted by color.

With Unseen Motherhood, I wanted to make sure mothers are at the center of the story again. I wanted to show the emotional, physical, and relationship changes that people often miss when they talk about becoming a mother.

Download

Share

COinS