Mythical Mother is an online art exhibition which will begin on 9 September until 30 September 2021.
The exhibition has been curated by Georgie White Winter and exhibiting artists include Shweta Bist, Michelle Gallagher, Marcia Michael, Nadia Nizamudin, Helen Sargeant, Celine Sheridan, Lynsey Watson, Georgie White Winter, and Maliheh Zafarnezhad.
Today the mother is tied up in myth and mystery. If we are to understand who we are then we must look at our mothers, and at our mothers’ mothers. For centuries, mythology and folklore across different cultures have either idealised or demonised women as Goddesses, warriors, clairvoyants, monsters or witches.
Whether revered as magical or dreaded as monstrous, representations of motherhood are steeped in expectation and preconceived ideas. We are mythical mothers yet our bodies and identities are still determined and shaped by predominant cultural expectations. What influence have these narratives had on modern mothers?
As we lay our heads on the pillow and start dreaming, do we feel empowered?
What does motherhood look like for us, and for others? Mythical Mother presents work by nine international artists who grapple with these very questions. The exhibition challenges us to look through and beyond the dominant myths and toward a multifaceted mother whose truth and vulnerability provides a space to reclaim the value of mothering.
Shweta Bist 
Michelle Gallagher Latching On 
Marica Michael Before Memory Returns 
Georgie White Winter Old Wives Tale 
Celine Sheridan
Artworks in the exhibition include:
- Georgie White Winter’s photo series “Old Wives Tales” exploring folklore in pregnancy
- photographic portraits by Shweta Bist which contemplate how motherhood has been portrayed in Hindu, Christian, Greek and Egyptian mythologies
- sculptural works by Maliheh Zafarnezhad created during the third lockdown
- Marcia Michael’s self-portraits as a “living myth” exploring her identity as a black woman and mother
https://www.spiltmilkgallery.com/exhibitions/mythical-mother
The following events will also take place:
Presenting the Mythical Mothers
Opening Event & Conversation with Lucy Soutter
Thursday 9th September 8pm BST
Register here
The Stories our Mothers Told Us
Artists in conversation with Becca Pelly-Fry
Wednesday 15th September 12:45pm
Register here
The Night of Mythical Mothers
An evening of performance hosted by Jemima Burrill
Wednesday 22nd September 8pm
Sign up here to be notified when registration opens
Spilt Milk is a social enterprise based in Edinburgh. Their mission is to support the work of artists who identify as mothers, and empower mothers in communities through artist-led activities. The group supports artist mothers through their international membership network and promote their members’ work through online exhibitions, events and publications.
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
