Postpartum is an exhibition dedicated to honouring the dead mothers of artists Melissa Clark, Melissa Urquhart and Hayley West. Through art and ritual, they explore the nature of the relationships and memories they hold of their mothers, and how they have changed over time.
The opening of the exhibition on Saturday night included a wake complete with music, dancing, drinks, canapés, and visitors bringing tokens of remembrance of their own mothers to place at the communal altar.
Artist Melissa Urquhart has found the exhibition has provided catharsis and a way of processing her complex relationship with her mother who died almost seven years ago.
“When someone passes away there’s nothing tangible to hold and embrace. What is left is the stuff, especially the things you have a particular fondness for,” Urquhart said.
“I particularly love her plants, which were passed on to her by my granny. I propagate them and give them to my friends as gifts, a living thing that is passed on.”
“Doing this….” Urquhart gestures to her work, “it’s like I’ve had a chance to commune with mum. Like she’s embodied in the objects.
“My other work is what the French call bricolage, a collection of assorted things, like college, but it also includes stitching and little bird bones. I call it Mothers Bone. It’s the essence of her, with music and recipes, photos, and text.”
Urquhart told the Express that fellow artist, Hayley West’s mum died quite a long time ago. One of her pieces in the exhibition is numbered balls, to symbolise an experience where West went to a counsellor after her mum died and they kept asking her to rate her feelings on a scale of 10.
Melissa Clark’s works show her Scottish heritage with tartan uteruses, with mother of pearls symbolising the seeds of life. Part of her exhibition is a chaise lounge covered in deep purple velvet, which features cushions with her mother’s buttons sewn onto them.
“We’ve all found, through doing this exhibition that there’s something about your mother’s passing and our own role as mothers, discovering the matrilineal,” Urquhart said.
“It’s a way to explore their legacies, both the good and the bad.”
The exhibition is open Saturdays and Sundays 11am – 4pm until November 27 at Lot 19, 19 McShanag Drive, Castlemaine.
