For 365 days, the artist and mother of three embroidered a piece of fabric she had used perhaps children’s clothes, a piece of cloth, or her own dresses then hung it up as physical proof of her daily chores, including cleaning the house, ensuring school uniforms were clean and ready to wear, pumping milk and feeding her children. The thought-provoking installation celebrates the mundane, and often unrecognized, work that mothers do every day.
“The labor force of motherhood is round the clock, underpaid and undervalued in society. We are like invisible workers,” Haider tells Arab News. “It’s very much about the physicality of all of these tasks. Sometimes, at the end of the day, I would feel like I had nothing to show for myself. Women do a little bit, a little bit every day and you come away with nothing tangible, so this installation literally quantifies (it) in a tangible way.”
Lebanese artist Aya Haider reveals the hidden work of motherhood arabnews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from arabnews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.