May 2007, GALLERY 53
This body of work comes from my exhibition “Connective Tissue”.
It explores the mother/daughter relationship using four generations of the matrilineal line of my Scottish family. In western society, the mother/daughter relationship can be a complex and ambivalent one. Traditionally the mother is the role model, preparing the way for the daughter to take her place in society. Yet often, in our still patriarchal society, the daughter sees the mother’s role as a devalued one and tries to reject it. The need for the Self to disentangle from the expectations of the mother can be strong in the daughter. The attitudes passed on, sometimes through many generations, can be hidden deep within our psyche. It is hard to find the way out of the labyrinth to an individual Self.
In my family, there are personality traits, attitudes and fears that I felt could not be totally explained by either nature or nurture but came from a deeper place. My research into family history gave me a glimpse into lives torn up by the clearances preceding the industrial revolution. It took me to the tenements of Glasgow, where people lived in the most appalling, overcrowded conditions. And at one stage, it took me to the poorhouse in Edinburgh. I found women who survived unbelievable poverty, pandemics, the great depression, two world wars and the upheaval of migration to a new country. I found women who lacked comfort and nurture in their lives who, in turn, demanded that their daughters be independent and undemanding. I found women who left a legacy of indomitable strength.
