WOLFMOTHERHOOD
Selfless devotion, nurturance, and sacrifice are central markers of “good” mothers across time and culture. These characteristics form the backbone of beloved maternal mythologies, such as the capitoline wolf of ancient Rome. According to legend, a wolfmother rescued exiled twin baby boys, feeding them from her own teats. However, the wolfmother is only remembered for this nursing, whereas the boys become rulers of a kingdom. WOLFMOTHERHOOD is an ongoing collection of projects across media that explores questions of rebellion, gender, maternal instinct, childfreedom, and mythology through a reimagining of the famous lupa capitolina (Capitoline Wolf) of Rome.
solo presentation, Brazosport College Art Gallery, October 2024 (photo by Molly Arc)
Exhibition text from Evidence of Things Unseen (SVA MFA Thesis show, 2024) by Andrew Paul Woolbright, Editor-At-Large, Brooklyn Rail
Reliquary for Remus and Romulus, 2024
Installation views of “Evidence of Things Unseen” (SVA MFA Thesis show) at Invisible Dog Art Center, Brooklyn, NY June-July 2024
A parafictional journal article by Dr. Janet Lykos (Associate Professor of Anthropology) accompanies this work and can be read here.
We Will Feed Each Other (II), 2024, glazed stoneware, gold luster, antique drawer hardware, upcycled vintage gold jewelry, glass vessel, garnet, 20x20 inches
We Will Feed Each Other (I), 2024, glazed stoneware, gold luster, antique drawer hardware, upcycled vintage gold jewelry, tassels, agate crystal, 18x18 inches
(Wolf)motherly love, I, 2022
Porcelain with vintage silver chain and rose quartz
22 x 8 x 3 inches
(Wolf)motherly love, II, 2022
Porcelain with brass chain, bullet casings, and quartz
20 x 8 x 3 inches
WOLFMOTHER PLUSHIES
soft sculpture, 32x22x4, upcycled faux fur, pleather, and other used fabrics.
TAKE CARE
Wolfmother Will Take Care of You, 2023, installation, size variable, mobile is 70 x 25 inches
Wolfmothers on mobile were screen print onto my grandmothers antique wrap skirts from the 1950s, then sewn into plush toys with sterling silver chains attached from each teat. Remus and Romulus brass sculpture is antique and found.