EMILIA WHITE

Parent Skins

Soon after becoming a parent over nine years ago, I constructed a series of colourful bodysuits with hand-sewn faces into them and photographed myself wearing them around the house. While doing the dishes, vacuuming the floor, breastfeeding my son, pushing a stroller to the park, etc., I used the costumes to convey the feeling of alienation that I felt from my previous identity after having a child. 

Masks and puppets have always been prominent in my creative work, and in the Parent Skins project I transformed myself into a puppet in my own life. Ironically, this is what it feels like when you’re parenting kids all day. I sent the bodysuits in the mail or dropped them off on friends’ porches to take their own photographs, with a simple prompt to capture their everyday parenting experiences while wearing the bodysuit. The project was flexible and low stakes, leading to humorously poignant results. As a whole, Parent Skins reveals the collective effort of parenting. We are all in this together, even when we are isolated at home doing the impossible task of trying to get our child to brush their teeth and take a bath before bed for the hundredth time. 

Participating Artist/Parents: