Spilt Milk is an artist-led social enterprise based in Scotland whose mission is to promote the work of artists who are mothers. 

 
 
 
 
 
 

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“Looking Up” by Jessica Kirkpatrick will be exhibited as part of our members show ‘Re: birth’. “This piece is about longing for home. But she is on the outside looking in. Home and family represent both belonging and a fetishistic middle class consumerism and idealization of the family unit. The house looms, asserting itself as a symbol success behind a property line fence. The woman disappears into her role as mother--and they are but cartoons of real life. Of course much of this is based on my contradictory feelings of being home raising children and understanding my own desires for home, and a sense of normalcy. I express this sentiment in art, but in real life am living it. I think the main point of this painting is contradiction.” @msjkirkpatrickart . ‘Re: birth’ opens on Saturday 28th September 2-5pm @st_margaretsh All welcome to the opening. Full details of the exhibition can be found on our website- link in our profile. ⬆️ . . . #oilpainting #jessicakirkpatrick #edinburghpalette #artcollector #exhibition #figurativepainting #conceptual_art #selfportrait #architectural #domesticbliss #contradiction #familylife #motherartist #spiltmilkgallery #edinburghartist #artevents #artsy #artnet #collectart
Our latest blog is a Q&A with @lauraajayi who will be exhibiting ‘We used to be so much closer (cord)’ as part of our upcoming show ‘Re: birth’ opening in 28.09.19 2-5pm @st_margaretsh Ajayi collected dryer lint from her family’s laundry for eighteen months, then coiled it into a soft sculpture resembling an umbilical cord. This piece uses discarded artifacts of domestic life to highlight the abjection of feminized caretaking and maternal bodies which, through their labour, evoke both admiration and disgust. The work considers the complexities of the parent-child relationship as an accumulation of tiny separations over time, beginning with the psychological and visceral separation of birth. . Do check out our blog to find out more about Laura Ajayi, how her work and her family life continue to integrate and coexist, and the challenges in doing so. . Check our website (link in profile) and head to our blog to read Laura’s full interview! . . . #lauraajayi #artistblog #interview #artistmother #canadianartist #domesticbliss #dryerlint #umbilicalcord #sculpture #conceptualart #birth #mothers #exhibition #feministart #artgirlrising #edinburghart #rebirth #spiltmilkgalleryexhibition
‘Milk and Tears’, Hand quilted textile hanging by Emily Zarse @emilyzarse . “Breastfeeding two babies is one of the hardest things I've ever done. I thought I’d be a natural, I was wrong. Nights were the worst where lack of sleep combined with physical pain and a multitude of unchecked thoughts. Why is this so hard? Is she ok? Am I ok? Am I producing too much? Is she getting enough? Will this ever get better? I have a distinct memory of the nights where the tears would flow as heavily as the milk, wetting the top of my baby's newborn head. This quilt tells a little bit of that story, made from vintage bed sheets and indigo dyed organic cotton. The breasts, milk drops and indigo tears are collaged on the quilt top with an overlay of black silk gauze, giving the piece a dreamy hazy night feel. Entirely quilted by hand.” • We are excited to be exhibiting ‘Milk and Tears’ as part of our upcoming members show ‘re: birth’ which opens 28th September 2-5pm Gallery One @ Edinburgh Palette ~ link in our profile for full details. All welcome 🙏 • • • #emilyzarse #milkandtears #nightfeed #textileart #fibreartist #fibrearts #quilting #handquilting #breastfeedingart #exhibition #edinburgh #spiltmilk #breasfeeding #rebirth #quiltsofinstagram #modernquilts #contemporaryartwork #honestmotherhood #artsy #artnet #scan #scottishartscene
Alex Baker will be exhibiting ‘This is motherhood’ from her series of the same name as part of our upcoming members exhibition ‘re: birth’ . “The Project ‘This is Motherhood’ explores the themes of invisibility and judgement that some women feel after giving birth, particularly in relation to breastfeeding in public and extended breastfeeding of older children. Inspired by Magritte’s painting The Lovers, whose own mother committed suicide, the series also touches on the subject of post-partum depression and the lack of public resources available.” @_thisismotherhood . . . Exhibition preview Saturday 28th September 2-5pm @st_margaretsh All welcome to attend (kids too!) . #thisismotherhood #breastfeeding #motherhood #rebirth #exhibition #spiltmilk #alexbaker #renemagritte #photography #portrait #thelovers #postpartumdepression #postpartumjourney #visibility #makingmotherhoodvisible #edinburgh #sneakpeek #preview #breastfeedinginpublic #motherandchild #honestmotherhood
Make sure and head along to @artwalkporty this weekend! So many exciting things happening and a wonderful way to spend your weekend! Don’t miss @f_i___b_a_i_l_e_y installation at Porty telephone box venue 41 ☎️❤️💥 . . . #artwalkporty2019 #telephonebox #installation #red #artfestival #balloons #sculpture #portobello #porty #edinburgh #lightbox #fibailey #arthouses #motherartist #environmentalart #heritage #art
‘The Shape of Your Sounds’ by Tracey Marie Taylor @tracymtaylor . New mothers spend much of their day trying to determine their baby’s needs when crying. Listening to a newborn child’s uncontrollable wailing can be torturous, causing a mother to feel helpless, unable to soothe their baby. At the same time, soothing a crying baby is a profoundly intimate form of human connection. Braced with the knowledge that I would only have one child, I was acutely aware that I would someday look fondly on those sleepless nights of new motherhood and miss being able to soothe my son back to sleep. This sculptural series is shaped from the recordings of my son’s cries. I turn his pleas into visual waveforms. The sound waves loop back on themselves in a 360-degree rotation. The result is vaguely reminiscent of the shape of a flower; each burst of sound looks like a petal. The shapes are then stacked vertically to create three-dimensional forms. The forms are carved out of High Density Urethane (HDU) using a Computer Numeric Controlled (CNC) router. This project connects to broader cultural conversations I am exploring in my studio about motherhood. As infertility rates continue to skyrocket, many women experience motherhood through a similar, clinical lens. My hope is that these projects give voice to the millions of women who have struggled to become mothers and honor the under-valued labor of motherhood. . Join us @st_margaretsh 28.09 2-5pm to see this work in the flesh as part of our members show ‘re: birth’ . . #sculpture #theshapeofyoursounds #babycries #motherhood #rebirth #conceptualart #traceymtaylor #exhibition #spiltmilk #infertility #soundsculpture #soundwaves ##edinburgh #scottishartscene #rebirthexhibition #preview #sneakpeek #womenempowerment
We are excited to announce our second annual members exhibition, ‘re: birth’ showcasing work by over forty of our national and international artist members. . This year’s theme; (‘rebirth’ or ‘regarding birth’) has resulted in a diverse collection of work across all media forms exploring representations of birth and the maternal body, contemporary narratives of the mother and child relationship, abstract reflections on the domestic realm, as well as work exploring adoption, loss, death and the cycle of life. Our poster image features Josie McCoy’s 1997 painting ‘The Birth’ inspired by the cover of Chumbawamba’s 1994 album ‘Anarchy’ which was subsequently banned in several countries for being too explicit. Imagery of birth, breastfeeding and artwork which explores representations of the female body are still continually censored or removed from social media. This exhibition not only challenges the censorship of the maternal experience but presents an honest and multifaceted account of what it means to be a mother in today’s world. The intimate fleeting moments, the fear and anxiety, the physical demands and the shift in identity; this exhibition is a powerful testimony to the birth of a mother. . . Preview Saturday September 28th 2-5pm @st_margaretsh Exhibition continues until 12th October. 💥 . Link in bio to full list of exhibiting artists ✊ . . #rebirth #edinburgh #spiltmilk #artistmother #censorship #maternalbody #birth #childbirth #painting #breastfeeding #internationalartists #groupshow #artactivism #makingmotherhoodvisible @societyscottishartists @scottishcontemporaryart @harpersbazaarart @frieze_magazine @elephantmagazine @artnews @artreview_magazine @artistmotherpodcast @creativescots @artistnetwork @wearetribewomen @womeninthearts @midwiferyforum
From the series ‘Second Moment II’ by Toni Pepe. . ‘Historically, motherhood has been viewed as a role rather than a relationship. It is a pre-scripted character that a woman is supposed to slip into, quietly abandoning her previous self for a self-sacrificing, silent and unconditionally loving figurehead. One of the most complicated and layered of human experiences reduced to an archetype, leaving little room for the flesh and blood mother to have authorship over any feelings that may stray from the ideal. I began the series The Second Moment shortly after giving birth to my first son. While the impetus for this work derives from my personal experience as a new mother, the images are also embroiled in the wider myth and fantasy of motherhood itself. Through a highly stylized and narrative approach, the subjects negotiate the shifting boundaries between mother and child.’ @toni.pepe . . Toni Pepe is chair and assistant professor of photography at Boston University. She received her MFA from the Rochester Institute of Technology and an MLA in visual culture from Boston University. Her most recent work address the materiality of motherhood as well as the myth and fantasy surrounding the mother as icon. She has exhibited both nationally and internationally including the Center for Photography at Woodstock and the Wege durch das Land, Music & Literary Festival. Pepe was a finalist for the Massachusetts Cultural Council Fellowship, a Critical Mass top 50, and a Review Santa Fe 100. Her work is in the permanent collections at the Danforth Art Museum, the Magenta Foundation, as well as many private collections. . . . #tonipepe #photography #motherandchild #icons #motherandchild #motherhood #contemporary_art #womeninthearts #feministphotographynetwork #femalephotographer #motherartist #spiltmilkartist #portrait #selfportrait #portraitgallery