Child

(working title)

Vera Ryklova

For this project I perform for the camera while creatively engaged with other subjects.

Inspired by the absence of my own child from my life, this project explores a sense of motherhood and is pursued in collaboration with other woman - the real mother - and her own child.

The work is executed at my subject’s home and the intention is that I, through an experiment, experience a superficial sense of motherhood. So far I have worked with 4 women, constantly developing the concept, and the examples here represent the different approaches I allude to.

Series Anna-7-years, Jasmin-9-years and Ema-16-years were created through a play: I was dressed in the clothes of their mothers following the daughters’ choice who also did my make-up and my hairstyle.

After I completed Anna series, in the process of evolving my project, I later began accompanying my self-portraits by variations of portraits of my subjects too - the key element in the images is the dress that we both, I and the mother, wore, as it connotes the mother’s identity I borrowed and signifies my loss at the same time. In Anna’s and Jasmin’s cases I took control over taking all photographs, whereas Ema was invited to direct me how to pose for my self-portraits.

The series Johana-12-years was created by observing her loving relationship with her mother. In this case I shared the control over the creative process with my subjects to make them active agents of the execution. I allowed them to instruct us on what will be performed and then how it will be captured by triggering the shutter release. The body language, the expression, the position within the given space is the child’s and mother’s conscious performance.

If the child expresses the interest of making a self-portrait, as Anna did, I tent to assist only with setting the camera, giving the child a full control over the creation.

This project is as a long-term commitment as prior to such collaboration a relationship with the subject has to be established.

Medium: medium format colour photographic film, scanned negatives. I also intent to explore this idea through video work.

Series: Anna-7-years

Series Jasmin-9-years

Series: Ema-16-years 

Series: Johana-12-years