BODHI & CLAUD

Origin

‘Bodhi and Claud’ started out as a simple, fun activity for my son and I to do together one afternoon. Yet to my surprise I found myself taken aback by the work we produced, as well as the response it received on social media. Not only has creating together now turned into a beautiful part of my own practice, it has become an exciting ongoing project in it’s own right.

Our Concept

Our collaborative works are in part, a representation and portrayal of the dynamic of our relationship. But the concept sits mostly within the creation process itself. My personal practice draws heavily on my experiences of motherhood, absent parents, grief, and 'unapproved' female rage, tied together through the wider societal context of how women and mothers are/have been portrayed within art over time. The slow act of creating with my son feels to me like a blending of worlds. It is a bold statement in a fast paced society that asks women to parent as though they don’t have jobs, and work as though they don’t have children, and then shame us when we are left raging, empty, and riddled with guilt.

Our work says we will not be rushed, nor separated, nor forced to always tow the line. We will move at our own pace, together. I do not need to be ‘child-free’ in order to create art, and I do not need to completely put down work in order to be able to mother.