Front Page feature in the Daily Advertiser
It was exciting to see Mums In View featured on the front page of the Daily Advertiser this week! Getting the message out there is an important part of the project and this was certainly great for that! I have had some really beautiful messages come through from women who tell me that they do feel ‘insignificant’ at times and are feeling invisible in the family album. Sadly I also get messages and comments from people who acknowledge what I’m doing because they have recently been in the situation where their mother has passed away and they couldn’t find any photos of her as an individual. Breaks my heart.
Also coming through are messages of thanks for getting this out there - for that I say you’re very welcome, but I know I am only a small cog in the wheel and there is so much more awareness to happen for the deeper issues - the ones I outline in my book - the ones I will continue to bring to light as I continue my journey to bring Mums into View x
Beautiful Rachael on the cover
Mums In View [ Part 4 ]
An actual supermum! This beautiful lady was amazing to shoot because there was so much to what makes her unique and special. I wish I had a minute of her energy! I loved capturing her and creating a snippet of memories that her and her family will treasure. These are just a few of what we captured.
An excerpt from the book .... ' Anybody will agree that we don’t want to be in a position where our mother passes on and we realize in hindsight that there were very little photos of her, both in her role as a mother, and of her as an individual across all stages of her life. Nor do we want to think that if we as mothers passed on that there is nothing left behind that tells our story because we were typically always behind the camera, never in front of it. Without photos there is potentially a lot to lose. Not just of her, but for the sense of ‘self’ and the identity formation of the generations to follow. I reflect on the notion of myself as ‘missing’ from the story of my family and can’t help but forecast a feeling of remorse on my departure that it could deny my future descendants a full sense of ‘self’ by my leaving a gap in the history book. Not to mention the direct impact on my children who have only pictures left to reflect on, and pictures to supplement what doesn’t come to memory. What history and memories will be gone forever? Equally important, is that we as mothers don’t want to be in a position of knowing we are missing in the photos and dearly want to be in them. Wanting to have images of the moments that matter, wanting there to be visual acknowledgment of us as mothers and as individuals, purely because these images give us joy, and because we know they are important to us for so many reasons, but also for our sense of self. We want to, and need to, create a new norm where none of these things are an issue.
Mums In View [ Part 3 ]
Another sneak peek at some of the images of one of the beautiful mums in the 'Mums In View' project. One of the most important parts of this project was capturing the interactions of the mums with their children, for all the reasons discussed in the book. What I loved about this shoot was capturing that beautiful connection we have with our children when they become young adults. The dynamics change but the love never does. I'm so glad we captured this in this shoot. This is one amazing lady and mum xx
An excerpt for the book ........ 'Children are certainly a photo worthy subject, and with good reason, we want to document their lives. A major part of their lives though is their mother, and if she’s always the one behind the camera then she’s not being documented in the context of the child’s life. When the child reflects on photos of their growing up, it won’t show the love and care of mum putting a band aid on their scraped knee, her helping them get ready for things, teaching them things, the moments of her spending time with them doing the things they loved, and the things they didn’t, or her expression as she watches them chatting away telling her parts of their day or showing her their latest creation. Nobody is documenting her role. She will be absent from the photos of the child’s life. The role of a mother is such a constant in our lives that we don’t pause to record it because it’s not a new event.....'
