MOTHERHOOD
“Mother” is the most beautiful word in the world. This terminology is not limited to human beings. It’s complimentary to thank nature for creating females or any female characters.
Most of the time, women are often perceived as soft, fragile, and emotional. However, they are far more resilient and strong than we imagine.
In my culture, there is an ancient saying: “Overcoming strength with softness.” This means the softness from a woman’s side can overcome all toughness.
Since I was growing up, I always thought there was some trauma in a woman’s life, from the marriage story and pregnancy experiences of my mother. My mother suffered a vast life transition through marriage, especially before and after she gave birth to me. Because of that, I thought those things could initially destroy a woman.
In this work, I took inspiration from how females develop during the pregnancy stage and how they build themselves up.
Before I was born, the placenta and umbilical cord were the medium that connected me to my mother. However, after my mother gave birth, their life ended, and I had no chance to see them anymore. What did they turn into? I know they just physically disappeared, but they are emotionally still there. I think it is kinship.
Based on that, I started to use sheer spandex mesh to create the umbilical cord and placenta. The reason I chose this fabric is that it is very sheer and fragile visually, but it is powerful and not easily broken physically.
Matilda Liang
Photographer: Shan Shi @shanshi13321 // Fashion Designer: Matilda Liang @t_liang_t // Model: Kalah Christina @kalah_christina & Jackie Mumm
