MAMAself

Artist's book/visual poem letterpress printed in over fifty runs from photopolymer plates and metal type.

paper, ink, wax, encaustic paint, board

edition of 32, age of artist when she became pregnant and gave birth to her second child

6.75” x 5” x .5”

Motherhood is a visceral experience that challenges plausibility. Humans beget (and raise) humans—a readily understood concept in theory that can seem incomprehensible when enacted. MAMAself is a pseudo-scientific exploration of being female and human, of being comprised of cells and emotions, of being one’s self while inhabiting a body that is no longer one’s own. The imagery suggests biochemical events, astronomical and sociologic mapping, and neuroscientific renderings. The text is collected data with narrative overtones, the resultant visual poem suggesting the cognitive miracle that is early language development and the cognitive shift that is frequently associated with pregnancy/motherhood.