MOTHERLOAD, Exhibition at Texas State University
Exhibition dates: August 21 - September 8th, 2023
Opening Reception: Wednesday, August 23rd, 5-7pm
Location: FLEX Space at Texas State Galleries,
Joann Cole Mitte Building,
233 West Sessom Drive, San Marcos, TX
MOTHERLOAD features recent work by Austin-based artists Ana Treviño and Christine Garvey. Both artists mine their roles as mothers, filtering their lived experiences through various historical and cultural tropes of motherhood. The resulting work serves as a way to challenge prevailing stereotypes and complicate the experiences of motherhood.
Christine Garvey's work is rooted in the concept of ruin and the anxieties surrounding motherhood. In her series "Mothers, Saints, and She-wolves" which includes a large site-specific mural, objects, and drawings, Garvey delves into the transformation of the maternal body and the power that emerges from this process. Influenced by classical Italian depictions of motherhood, Garvey's work reimagines classical myths around motherhood through a feminist lens. Her works depict elements from the natural world, highlighting the connection between motherhood and the primal, even monstrous, aspects of human nature. Through Garvey's artistic reinterpretations, the exhibition challenges the conventional representations of motherhood as solely tender and nurturing, instead embracing the full spectrum of emotions and experiences that come with the act of mothering.
Ana Treviño's work confronts the misrepresentations of mothers perpetuated by media, literature, and art. She reimagines the narratives of motherhood by juxtaposing films and television with real-life mothers from her community. Through video portraits inspired by Renaissance paintings, she emphasizes the invisible labor, essential care, and sacrifices that mothers undertake. Some of Trevino’s work playfully satirizes the limited depictions of motherhood in pop culture, while others transcend stereotypes. Treviño's social practice methodology, filmmaking, sculpture, and collage allow the viewer to enter the psyche of the mother, gaining insight into their dreams, fears, desires, and the loss of identity they often experience.
Motherload offers a nuanced perspective on motherhood. Treviño and Garvey actively challenge prevailing stereotypes and complicate the experiences of motherhood by confronting misrepresentations, reimagining narratives, and embracing the full spectrum of emotions and transformations inherent in mothering.
More information: https://txstgalleries.org/grounded and https://txstgalleries.org/about
Statement courtesy of Annie Miller