Artist Statement

Sophia creates soft sculptures woven from postpartum disposable underwear investigating the physical, mental, and emotional transformation of motherhood. The sculptures emulate the paradoxes of the postpartum body: the softness and hollowness after birth in the texture and shape of the baskets are juxtaposed with the tight muscles and tissues in the threads holding the forms together. The tedious process of weaving mirrors the repetitive and ritualistic tasks involved in caring for one's children and one's own bodily needs. The list of nouns pouring out of a basket about the size of a pelvic bowl comes from a personal narrative she wrote about putting her daughter to bed. As she free-hand embroidered each word, she reflected on the moments of peace and presence as well as loneliness and anxiety experienced in caregiving. The potential for mothers to experience Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders are not only dictated by circumstances or events but by how supported - held and witnessed - one feels in their maternal experience.

Installation Shots - Taking Up Space at Ketchup City Gallery 2022