SITTING in on her mother’s group, Ilona Nelson would find herself in awe of the other mums and their perfect little babies.
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“Everyone was going on about how beautiful their babies were and I was struggling to get my head around becoming a mum,” the mother of two recalled.
After having various discussions with her friends and several other mums, the artist soon came to the realisation that the reality of motherhood wasn’t often acknowledged.
So, in a bid to portray an honest representation of the aforementioned subject, Nelson decided to create a new media project that looked at motherhood in a different light.
The result was the interactive solo exhibition This Place, comprised of 12 portraits, each featuring a mute and faceless creature camouflaged into its own environment.
The show also features a film, children’s activities and an opportunity for visitors to add their own parenting insights and experiences.
“I’ve got friends who are mums and artists and being around these other mothers I realised we all had similar theories about being mums,” Nelson said.
“I was seeking honesty. I wanted to put the reality of motherhood out there.”
A melbourne-based photographic and new media artist, Nelson completed her Bachelor of Fine Arts (majoring in photography) in 1998.
Since then, the creative has exhibited extensively and been selected at numerous prizes throughout Australia including the Sunshine Coast Art Prize and Ballarat’s own Flanagan Art Prize.
Working predominately in photography as well as film, performance and installation, Nelson said the heart of all her work was honesty and the search for such moments.
She said she hoped her exhibition would allow people to see varied perspectives on motherhood and create an open and continued conversation without judgement.
“The portraits are all kind of light-hearted but there is also an aspect of seriousness to them,” Nelson said.
“It’s about respecting the huge spectrum of emotions that come with being a parent.
“You love them and would jump in front of a bus for them, but there are other days you want to kill them. It’s a crazy pendulum!”
This Place will be shown at The Lost Ones gallery until December 21. For a sneak peek, visit www.ilonanelson.com/thisplace.html