re: birth’ is the second annual showcase of work by Spilt Milk members and opens on 28th September 2-5pm at Edinburgh Palette, St Margarets House. The exhibition features over 40 artists both local and international, and includes sculpture, photography, painting, video art, performance and installation. The exhibition continues until October 12th 2019.
This year’s theme; (‘rebirth’ or ‘regarding birth’) has resulted in a diverse collection of artwork exploring in a range of mediums; representations of birth and the maternal body, contemporary narratives of the mother and child relationship, abstract reflections on the domestic realm as well as work exploring adoption, loss, and the cycle of life.
Our poster image features Josie McCoy’s 1997 painting ‘The Birth’, inspired by the cover of Chumbawamba’s 1994 album ‘Anarchy’ which was subsequently banned in several countries for being too explicit. Imagery of birth, breastfeeding and artwork which explores representations of the female body are still continually censored or removed from social media. This exhibition not only challenges the censorship of the maternal experience but presents an honest and multifaceted account of what it means to be a mother in today’s world. The intimate fleeting moments, the fear and anxiety, the physical demands and the shift in identity; this exhibition is a powerful testimony to the birth of a mother.
Highlights of this year’s show include Alex Baker’s portrait of a breastfeeding mother, her head covered in reference to Rene Magritte’s ‘The Lovers’. Emily Zarse’s hand sewn quilt titled ‘Milk and Tears’ measuring almost 3 metres tall, Tracey Marie Taylor’s sculpture created from the sound waves of her baby’s cry, and Imogen Di Sapia’s weaving titled ‘Chromosome 17’; a visual representation of the artist’s coded DNA analysis.
As part of the exhibition, and recreated specifically for re: birth, we will also be presenting ’Interruptions’ a multi media installation by Mother Art Revisited, an American collective of women artists dedicated to creating socio-political art.