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While balancing unpaid emotional and domestic labour with full time paid work, Emma O'Brien placed her photographic practice on hold. It was an indulgence she couldn't afford, Motherhood demanded this sacrifice. As her child grew, working with a feminist concept of intersubjectivity - how to care for another and one's self - she began carving the time to explore her role as mother and artist.
In The Holding Place she finds the quiet moments, the silence and tenderness absent from the intense days of working and mothering. The work is made from motherhood the small world that is inhabited, the recurring daily routines, the scant time available, and the intimacy of the mother child relationship all shape this work.
Barely seen in the work is herself, this mirrors the often invisible dual role working mothers play. She aims through this work to amplify the notion that mothers occupy multiple spaces and that this lived experience is a valid area of artistic enquiry - and indeed can provide an abundance of material.
For those that are not familiar with the project, TLP Editions is an ongoing collection, produced and designed by PhotoIreland, that presents work by contemporary artists in the form of uncomplicated publications. These are available through The Library Project in-store and online. All and any funds generated by the project go to producing more copies of the publications, ensuring we can keep promoting the artists and practices represented. These editions are regularly showcased and donated to international events and festivals, such as the Icelandic Photography Festival recently. In addition, TLP Editions also grace some important shelves and collections, including that of the Hasselblad Foundation Library and the Martin Parr Foundation.
You can find a list of all the TLP Editions here.
PhotoIreland is kindly supported by the Arts Council of Ireland to develop support projects such as the TLP Editions.
Published by PhotoIreland
Edition of 200
Softcover
32 pages
148 × 210 mm
