sempozyum_bildiri_kitabi

Over a period of time the series which started with initial
conglomerations gradually became more concrete and evolved
into tree‐ like forms. I borrowed from nature its processes of
growth and created my own ‘maternal garden’, which
denounced the natural appearances and colours of plants.
Instead the colour palette became dominant crimson lake (red)
which suitably emphasized the references to my flesh and blood
, through which the life sap of my child was connected. In The
Edge of Life (2002, see image 2) I created on the canvas in
alizarine crimson and scarlet lake, a large form with the trunk of
a tree and the upper part of a womb. For me, either as ‘a womb
–like tree’ or ‘a tree‐like womb’, the form held within itself, the
moment of anticipation of the becoming of a mother. In this
work too the physical body was not apparent, rather the
physical and psychological pulses it underwent were expressed
metaphorically and non‐realistically.
With the birth of my daughter whom we named Meher
(which means blessing), the mystery within became apparent
and I developed an extended perspective towards my own
maternality, outside of my body. It was now beyond
Image 2.The Edge of Life, Acrylic
on canvas, 2005 (Transit Spaces
Series).
embodiment, as I was introduced to a new world of the girl child which included material objects of
maternal care. I developed a fetish for goods for a baby girl 8 and the expression of maternal
experiences gradually began to coalesce with the world of my daughter’s care. This also positioned
me in the middle of ‘experiencing’ and ‘being’ maternal, between my mother and my daughter, as I
now looked at maternality as a past as well as the future. In moments of reflection and reconcile, I
created an installation which brought together my mother, myself and my daughter within one work.
Titled Home is Where the Heart Is II (2010,see image 3) the installation created out of terracotta pots
lined to make a contour of a home , the site of experiencing the maternal over generations. It held
within found objects such as photographic memory of my mother, items associated with feeding
such as rice, pulses, coconut cooking spoons, spices, toys of my daughter and my own toys with
which I played as a little girl brought within the contours of the house plan. Against the contrasting
colour of the terracotta , I created
within, a courtyard with white rice.
As much as it gave an idea of the
experiences through the objects
placed in it, its white scape
provided room for the imagination
of what else could be. Materials
and objects used to perform
maternal care in my home became
‘found objects’ in my art making 9 .
Together as a collective
representation spreading three
generations, the work used
objects ‘lived with’ to create lived
experience of motherhood. In
both the body of works, I saw the
maternal in my art from the
Image 3. Home is Where the Heart Is-II, Terracotta pots, rice,
photograph, spices and other found objects, 2010 (Home In /Out
Series).
different gendered roles I was put in and I chose to put myself in.