Parent Skins
Shortly after becoming a parent over nine years ago, I created a series of colorful bodysuits with hand-sewn faces and photographed myself wearing them while doing everyday tasks—washing dishes, vacuuming, breastfeeding, pushing a stroller to the park, and more. These costumes expressed the sense of alienation I felt from my previous identity after becoming a parent.
Masks and puppets have always been central to my creative practice, and with the Parent Skins project, I transformed myself into a puppet within my own life. This mirrors the experience of parenting—feeling like a puppet, going through the motions of daily care. I then mailed the bodysuits to friends or dropped them off at their porches, inviting them to photograph their own parenting experiences while wearing the suit, with the simple prompt to capture their everyday moments.
The project was flexible and low-pressure, yielding humorously poignant results. Parent Skins reflects the collective effort of parenting—we’re all in this together, even when isolated at home, doing the seemingly impossible task of convincing a child to brush their teeth and take a bath for the hundredth time.
Self Adjacent, Kennedy Museum of Art, Athens, Ohio 2024
Self Adjacent, Massey Klein Gallery, NYC 2024
Self Adjacent, Visual Arts Center, Richmond VA 2023
Maternal Interior, A2AC, Ann Arbor MI 2023
Painting at Night, Collar Works, Troy NY 2022
The Art of Motherhood, Sojourn Arts, Louisville KY, 2021
Something Growing Inside, TrustArt Gallery, Ann Arbor MI 2018
Self Adjacent exhibition, curated by Tracy Stonestreet and Sarah Irvin, Visual Arts Center of Richmond, November - January 2023
Participating Artist/Parents:
