Tabitha Soren reflects on the inspiration behind her latest photographic series, Motherload. Initially conceived as a way to balance her roles as both a mother and an artist, the project quickly grew into a bold exploration of whether it’s truly possible to reconcile motherhood with creative success.<\/p>\n
By Rise Art<\/span> | 26 Mar 2025<\/p>\n<\/div>\n When reading about Tabitha Soren<\/a>\u2019s photographic series\u00a0Motherload<\/i>, the first thing to capture my attention is her concept statement: “This project began as a hedge against life as a mother overtaking life as an artist.” The second is the following admission: “There have always been women artists, including very driven ones, who have never harbored doubts about the feasibility of straddling the line between motherhood and creative accomplishment.\u00a0Motherload<\/strong><\/i> is not for them<\/strong>.”<\/p>\n If you\u2019re not yet familiar with Soren\u2019s work, she has carved out a unique space within photographic arts<\/a>, focusing less on capturing any \u201cdecisive moment\u201d and more on immortalising the nuanced moments of in-between and belation. Drawing from her experience as a TV journalist, Soren\u2019s portfolio is filled with explorations of what she calls “impediments to the humanistic encounter”\u2014the challenges and disruptions that shape our experience of the world. In\u00a0Motherload<\/i>, she expertly captures the chaotic, repetitive, and often invisible aspects of daily care that can overwhelm a mother\u2019s identity and extinguish any form of creative fire.<\/p>\n So, why did Soren\u2019s project statements strike me with such intensity? While contemporary discourse on the trials of motherhood is gaining ascendancy\u2014\u201cthe sleep deprivation of newborn life is only the beginning of the emotionally turbulent and physically draining rollercoaster that is motherhood\u201d\u2014globally, we are still recovering from an over-polished view of maternal life. There remains to be a great deal of shame surrounding the hardship of motherhood, as if admitting the challenge is akin to admitting incompetence as a parent: \u201cThe pressure to love being a mom was overwhelming in my community, and this project was a way to grapple with that pressure and feelings of ambivalence about being a mom or my ability to be a good mom.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n This project refuses to pander to such pressures, and its confrontational nature\u2014unwilling to conceal this \u201csloppy, ugly, disheveled time of life\u201d\u2014is spellbinding. \u201cInstead of bliss, I felt very taxed and very needed, yet also very invisible. The ghostly images capture that ethereal quality of not feeling like a whole person. In the photographs, I\u2019m not really in focus because my brain wasn\u2019t in focus either. I was also out of view from much of the outside world because I was on my side of the bed, nursing, napping, consoling, rocking, changing diapers, etc. Honestly, being an artist and a mom is like running with weights on<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n As a photographer, Soren is accustomed to seeking clarity, but in this series, the deliberate soft focus and the passage of time evoke a sense of impermanence and motion. The portraits<\/a> are further layered by the presence of two sisters, moving in and out of the frame, adding complexity and depth to the intimate scenes. The result is a body of work that is not merely a reflection of one woman\u2019s experience, but rather a profound meditation on the constantly evolving, interconnected\u2014and, at times, solitary\u2014nature of motherhood.<\/p>\n We are not unfamiliar with rageful or grotesque works from women artists, from\u00a0Judith Beheading Holofernes<\/i> to\u00a0The Three Minute Scream<\/i>, but sleep-deprived, isolated, running-on-fumes mothers? Less so. \u201cI can\u2019t tell you how many times I\u2019ve checked another woman artist\u2019s biography to see if she is a mom. I think, oh god, her work is so great, but does she have children? Like, are we in the same race?\u201d It\u2019s not that a new genre has been born\u2014Soren encourages readers seeking to explore more works and interpretations of modern motherhood to pick up a copy of\u00a0Mother Reader<\/i><\/a>\u2014but rather that only now, even if partially, does the world seem ready to talk about the limiting nature of motherhood in the arts. Soren agrees that this is part of what spurred her to continue with the series: \u201cI\u2019d never seen this kind of work before. Not because it didn\u2019t exist, but because there wasn\u2019t a platform for it. And that\u2019s a really good reason to pursue it.\u201d<\/p>\n The use of aerial photography feels particularly poignant in this piece, a time when mothers, though somewhat quarantined, often feel exposed and at risk of judgement. I wonder aloud whether this technique serves as a metaphor, particularly with regard to showing a wider perspective on mothering, rather than focusing on an individual experience. \u201cFor me, the camera POV was essential to keep the camera equipment in the room at all times, but out of the way of my husband and children bumping into it or breaking it. However, it does allow a more universal approach to the subject since it\u2019s from \u2018on high.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n The locked-off shot was the most essential element of\u00a0Motherload<\/i>. Its consistency allows even just a day of\u00a0Motherload<\/i> to layer into one another, capturing the exquisite and trying intimacy of early motherhood. \u201cI love that in one\u00a0Motherload<\/i> photograph, time elongates and space shrinks.\u201d Soren layers all 400 photographs from the series in\u00a0My Great American Novel<\/i><\/a>* in a moving time-lapse. \u201cOne of the main challenges I\u2019ve faced as a woman artist is the conflict I feel about caring for someone, loving someone, yet remaining dedicated to my art in an undivided way. I think that, generally, men find it much easier to be selfish. And you do need to be selfish. I think the reason I keep working on motherhood in so many iterations is that the process helped me realize more deeply that I am both an artist and a mom\u2014and that I am as proud of one kind of expression as the other.\u201d<\/p>\n If I may offer an interpretation, I see persistence and tenacity in all of these scenes; any rage, no doubt felt against the lack of support for women artists, is used as creative fuel and quietly layered into the pieces. It is perhaps for this reason that, when Soren looks back at these works, she feels \u201clike a survivor.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Yes, the project is absolutely a hedge against life as a mother overtaking life as an artist\u2014and not for those who deny the challenges faced by women creatives. Yet, they are far from hopeless. \u201cMy art delves into the pockets of pain we live in, but also the hope that carries us through. This is why my work takes so long to make\u2014there are layers of experience, both highs and lows, woven into every piece. Exploring psychological states has always been at the core of my work, whether the subjects are athletes, babies, or fingerprints. Each image reflects the depth of human experience, and that depth requires time to unfold.\u201d<\/p>\n Motherload<\/i>, a project 15 years in the making, extends beyond Soren\u2019s personal story, inviting viewers into the shared, universal experience of maternal connection. Soren is not interested in dissecting identity or detailing specific moments of pain or trauma; rather, her focus lies in uncovering the subtle, often intangible threads that bind us all. This is no easy feat, as it requires avoiding the pitfalls of sentimentality or clich\u00e9. Yet, her work remains deeply rooted in the raw, unvarnished reality of life. *The title of this work stems from Soren\u2019s husband writing and releasing a best-selling novel during the time she was only able to focus on \u201ckeeping this baby alive\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n For a closer inspection of Soren’s photography, please visit her gallery<\/a> or get in touch<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Tabitha Soren reflects on the inspiration behind her latest photographic series, Motherload. Initially conceived as a way to balance her roles as both a mother and an artist, the project quickly grew into a bold exploration of whether it’s truly possible to reconcile motherhood with creative success. By Rise Art | 26 Mar 2025 When […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":164544,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[100],"tags":[1885,14088,14089,14091,14090,14093,14092,25012,25773,66793,14094,66794,66792,6234,66795,57033,66791,66790],"dealstore":[],"offerexpiration":[],"class_list":["post-164543","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-art","tag-art","tag-art-articles","tag-art-blog","tag-art-events","tag-art-news","tag-latest-art-releases","tag-latest-news","tag-limited-edition","tag-motherhood","tag-motherload","tag-online-art-gallery","tag-photographic-series","tag-photopraphy","tag-rise","tag-soren","tag-tabitha","tag-tabitha-soren","tag-tabitha-soren-motherload"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"Tabitha](\"https:\/\/d1ee3oaj5b5ueh.cloudfront.net\/thumbs\/360xAUTO_original_article_2025_03_d07dabb9-f116-4ce3-a3a8-06ca60928037.jpg)
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Conclusion<\/h3>\n
![\"Tabitha](\"https:\/\/d1ee3oaj5b5ueh.cloudfront.net\/thumbs\/360xAUTO_original_article_2025_03_a22a0411-90f3-476c-8eec-2d055ab15e9c.jpg)
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