“Silence, I discover, is something you can actually hear” —Haruki Murakami
Soñar Madre (Mothers Dreams) is a body of work produced by two friends: seekers, artists, alchemists, separated by 30,000 miles but continually inspired by one another as women and artists.
In honor of Mother’s Day, they have collaborated, in conjunction with the Instagram feed @echosight; on Motherhood, from two perspectives. Natalie, mother to two beautiful daughters. Kerry, who learned motherhood is an impossible dream.
“I’ll never know, and neither will you, of the life you don’t choose. We’ll only know that whatever that sister life was, it was important and beautiful and not ours. It was the ghost ship that didn’t carry us. There’s nothing to do but salute it from the shore.” —Cheryl Strayed, Tiny Beautiful Things
“Never out your faith in a Prince. When you require a miracle, trust in a witch.” —Catherynne M Valente, In The Night Garden
“If there ever comes a day when we can’t be together, keep me in your heart. I’ll stay there forever.” –A.A. Milne, Winnie the Pooh
“I’m a whisper in water, secret, for you to hear.” —Bjork
“The most terrible and beautiful and interesting things happen in life. For some of you, those things have already happened. Whatever happens to you belongs to you. Make it yours. Feed it to yourself even if it feels impossible to swallow. Let it nurture you, because it will.” –Cheryl Strayed, Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar
“Shadows are where magic comes from. Your dark and dancing self, slipping behind and ahead and around, never quite looking at the sun.” —Catherynne M Valente, The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and led the Revels There.
“All grown-ups were once children… but only few of them remember it.”—Antoine de Saint-Exupéry,The Little Prince
“..children know such a lot now, they soon don’t believe in fairies, and every time a child says, ‘I don’t believe in fairies,’ there is a fairy somewhere that falls down dead.”
“Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself. They come through you but not from you, And though they are with you, yet they belong not to you.” —Kahlil Gibran
“The little island seemed to float in the dark lake-waters. It was a mysterious island, Lonley and beautiful. All the children stood and gazed at it, loving it and longing to go to it. It looked so secret almost magic. “Well” said Jack at last “Shall we run away and live on the secret island? “Yes” whispered all the children, “let’s!” –Enid Blyton “The secret island”
“Her journey’s into the sea are endless.”
The images blended show the menstrual blood that defies one, every twenty-eighth day, in a bloody emotional battle of hope and loss; and the children, birthed in water, raised by the sea, that delight and inspire the other, day after day after day.
An example of how a body of work need never been ‘done’, Soñar Madre has divided roots…. New York and Australia; an earlier project, and an ongoing personal documentation. Inspired by Kerry Payne Stailey’s “The Children (I Never Had)”, originally published on Burn in June, 2014, the inclusion of the evocative and mystical images of the children of Natalie Grono has enabled two artists with distinctly unique visions to jointly produce an entirely new body of work.
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Artists Statements:
NATALIE:
Long ago you were a dream.
I awoke
instinctively,
in a storming pool of blood,
yours and mine.
We were born, reborn,
You, to this world.
Me, as mother.
The flesh of my flesh. The breath of my breath. The dream of my dream.
KERRY:
Long ago you were not a dream.
I was not called to be a mother
all the years I might have been.
Then there was him,
our longing was born,
but nothing more.
Calendars turn, battle of wills
forgive me, love
this body has won.
So quietly we grieve
the babies I bleed.
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For our mothers, your mothers, and theirs.
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PHOTOGRAPHER BIOS
Kerry Payne Stailey is an Australian photographer based in New York City. She is drawn to the healing power of photography – a tool she uses for exploring and acknowledging emotions as guides to the path of happiness. Kerry has studied photography, documentary film making and writing at the International Center for Photography, School of Visual Arts, and New York University. She is a Snr Fellow of the United Nations Foundation Instacorp, and her images and projects have been published and exhibited widely worldwide.
www.kerrypayne.net
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Believing we are surrounded by beauty and magic everyday, Natalie Grono’s photographic storytelling powerfully transports the viewer into her wonderful world as she shares the stories and moments she encounters along the way. With her award winning photojournalistic background shooting for magazines and newspapers, Natalie’s images are regularly published and exhibited worldwide. Natalie lives close to a beautiful beach in Australia and travels as much as she can.
www.nataliegrono.com
Related links
Kerry Payne
Natalie Grono
Echosight
Ipressive but I probably like it for the wrong reasons
We’re so grateful for the beautiful work by Kerry and Natalie this week.
Daniella and I would love to have more @echosight collaborations between members of the BURN community. If you’re interested, please send us an e-mail at hello@echosight.me
Thanks all!
Danny
Truly, I am left without words. No comment I can make will be adequate.
Too bad echosight is pretty much same same in technique kills content here the content is strong enough to withstand that technique any more and it would play into the hands of cliche
It put me in the clouds for a bit, and the quotes drew me in too.
I think less would have been more here. 3 pictures would have done a better job than 12.
I have no idea what to make of this work.