Arcanum, 2023, Pigment prints and charcoal on Hahnemühle

Motherhood is an ever-changing landscape of contradiction; mundane yet mystical, monotonous yet revelatory. It is a relentless cycle of leveling and rebuilding, a continual transformation of identity. ‘Arcanum’ is a work about this experience, one that is at once entirely common and deeply complex.

In the work, mother embodies two-headed Janus, the Roman god of beginnings, endings, transitions and duality. One gaze is fixed upon the steadfast and unwavering Percé Rock which surrealist artist Andre Breton used as a metaphor to represent the regenerative force of women in his radical 1944 book ‘Arcanum 17’. The other face is turned towards a gestural charcoal line drawing representing life's vital forces. Shadowing this is an image of the churning Mt Vesuvius, described by Goethe as a peak of hell amidst paradise. His fascination with nature’s capacity for destruction, alongside renewal and regeneration, echoes that of Breton.

Both Goethe and Breton believed nature contained hidden truths, and that contemplation of elemental forces could lead to a deeper understanding of life and existence. Similarly standing in front of this artwork, the viewer is invited to consider what truths can be found within the conflicting space of motherhood. 

Finalist in the 2023 Gosford Art Prize

Gosford Regional Art Gallery, 2023