Motherhood
MOTHERHOOD, exhibition of the female art group MOMI exhibited at:
– Kavadarci Museum Gallery, Republic of North Macedonia (2026)
– Cultural Information Center (KIC), Skopje, Republic of North Macedonia (2023)
Excerpt from the text “Art and Motherhood: Dichotomy or Synchronicity”
on the exhibition Motherhood by the art group MOMI, by Dr. Ana Frangovska
The latest artistic exploration by the artists from the MOMI group maps the current relationship between art and motherhood. It examines the dynamic between creative work and the challenges of creation due to conventional perceptions of motherhood or structural obstacles it creates, as well as the difficulties many artists face in reconciling their creative and maternal efforts.
The MOMI group boldly continues this discourse, interpreting maternal roles from various perspectives. Even though some members are not mothers themselves, they cultivate this discourse of creation and nurturing from diverse perspectives, encompassing individual impetus, personal emotions, the feminine principle, feminist discourses, issues related to women’s creativity, craftsmanship, precarious labor, and more. Before delving into an individual analysis of their works, it is important to highlight another key perspective in their project: structural “maidenly” interactivity. This refers to the inter-communication or mutual reflectivity among the artists in responding to and reflecting upon each other’s works. This approach fosters a connection and complementarity that renders the exhibition interpolated and cohesive, functioning like an organism whose vitality depends on the interplay between its components and their interdependent cohesion.
Ana Ivanovska extends the trajectory of previous explorations with her work “Axis of Life”, a multimedia and multidimensional piece. This object relies on manual labor and traditional women’s skills, incorporating textiles, threads, ropes, zippers, embroidery, crocheted lace, as well as other materials such as MDP, photography, and more. Ivanovska’s work is always marked by strong symbolism and semiotics, and this piece is no exception. It features symbols of the feminine principle, including triangles, circles, and oval forms resembling a tear, which evoke the vulva as a source of new life. T his form is filled with blood vessels and connective tissues that imbue it with energy and power. In addition to these symbols and associations with the “secrets” of female nature, Ivanovska employs lexical play to describe the position and spectrums of motherhood, celebrating the roles of women and mothers. She visually stretches diverse prismsacross a cross, which is semantically loaded but also symbolizes circular movement and the sun as a source of life. In this sense, motherhood itself is celebrated as the ultimate source of life.
These lines of interconnectedness, interdependence, and communication imbue the project with an intrinsic empiricism, creating a mediating platform that fosters an aura of synergy and solidarity among the MOMI artists. In conclusion, the exhibition “Motherhood” serves as a trigger aimed at all women—regardless of whether we are mothers ourselves, or whether we carry or nurture life in a broader sense. We all possess some understanding of motherhood. By “birthing” their creations, the MOMI artists presented this significant and complex theme in diverse ways, offering insights into what motherhood can mean—its joys, challenges, frustrations, and fears—while seeking to articulate the unspoken dimensions it may encompass.
- Dimensions: variable
- Technique: mixed media