I grew up in violence and rebelled with kindness. Kindness was mostly punished with violence or humiliation from the people who were supposed to care for and protect me. When I complied with violence, I was still punished with violence and humiliation. It’s now in my forties I see that kindness must be backed with a capacity for fury and violence. A woman needs her tusks and claws, and to be able to allow herself to be “blood thirsty” to protect herself, her kin and those that can not protect themselves on their own.
Blood Thirsty Mothers is an ongoing project to create a visual language for a mode of femininity I saw repressed and punished with violence and humility. I had blood thirsty mothers in my life that helped form into the woman I am today. They weren't all “good” mothers, but they all struggled to survive on their own in a patriarchal society that tried to grind down their tusks and cut their claws.
This series will be for the feminine aspect of the viewer to be armed with an image of self that exists both as killer and caretaker. Blood Thirsty Mothers is a reminder that it's more than ok to come off as a Bitch. That our femininities can embody power, danger, love, and competence. We will still have fellowship when marking clear boundaries.
