The Mother as a Creator
Doctor in art from the University of Brighton, Annie Wang specialized in questions related to identity, creativity, and feminine visual culture. When she becomes pregnant in 2000, the artist has the feeling that her function as a mother tends to eclipse the creative identity acquired through her work as an artist. According to Wang, in the eyes of the world, pregnancy and maternity can transform a woman to the point of defining her value by the sacrifices she makes for her children. The Taiwanese artist rises up against these societal expectations and elevates maternity into an artistic approach. The first image of the ongoing series The Mother as a Creator is made the day before her delivery. Since then, she takes each year a photo of herself and her son in front of the photo of the previous year, hung behind them. This mise en abyme represents the different layers of their relationship and contributes to a new representation of maternity.
