Mother | Aug 23-25th
Photo courtesy of Dorado 806
I am honored to have had two pieces, Memory 1 and The Walls We Build, featured in Dorado 806's Mother exhibition, which was showcased at the Torrance Art Museum as part of the Tryst Art Fair, from August 23rd to 25th, 2024. Curated by Dorado 806, the exhibition centered on the theme of motherhood, exploring the many ways the mother archetype manifests in our lives—whether through our own experiences as mothers or through the ways we’ve experienced "mother energy" from others.
Mother dove into the tensions and beauty of mother relationships. The exhibit encouraged viewers to reflect on their personal relationships with motherhood and how this energy weaves through modern life, both in the familial sense and within larger, societal contexts. It was a great honor to see my work included in this meaningful conversation.
Memory 1 and The Walls We Build appear in the online exhibition and printed catalog. These works are deeply personal, reflecting my experience of losing my mother at the age of 26, and my grandmother at 21—a lineage of loss that shapes the way I understand motherhood today. After my mother passed away, I discovered she was an artist herself, though she never called herself one during her life. Sorting through her belongings, I found beautiful drawings she had created in college. This revelation made everything click for me. Her creativity was ever-present in her meticulous sewing, gourmet cooking, and the art that filled our home, but she never embraced the title of "artist."
In my artist statement for the show, I shared this experience:
"My mom died when I was 26, and her mom died when she was 21. I didn’t realize my mother was an artist until after she died. She never called herself an artist; she was a librarian, a mother, and a wife. While sorting through her belongings, I found beautiful drawings she must have done in college. This revelation made everything click. She was a meticulous seamstress and gourmet cook, and her tapestries and paintings surrounded me growing up. She once told me that if she hadn’t become a librarian, she might have been an interior designer. She was in her fifties, yet it felt like she was talking about a life that had passed her by. I didn’t want children when I was young, but I became a mother after she passed away. Being a mother without a mother is an exquisitely beautiful pain. As we become mothers, we see our own mothers differently. We develop compassion for them where the walls used to stand. When all we have is memory, those walls crumble."
My participation in this exhibition gave me the opportunity to reflect on the complex feelings surrounding motherhood, memory, and loss. As I explored in The Walls We Build, becoming a mother without having your own mother is both a profound loss and a strange kind of beauty.
Dorado 806’s Mother exhibition brought together a remarkable collection of works that touched on these same themes of healing, reflection, and the way mother energy creates the foundations for both relationships and personal growth. I’m grateful to have been part of this exhibition and to have my work stand alongside such powerful reflections on motherhood.