“Annonciation”

“Annonciation” by Elina Brotherus
A selection of these photographs is currently on view at the Museum Kunstpalast in Düsseldorf

“MAMA”, an amazing exhibition exploring the theme of motherhood is currently on at the Museum Kunstpalast Düsseldorf. What a great show — making an essential contribution to visualizing and transporting what it has meant to be a mother from antiquity to this day, through works of art and from many different angles. I was particularly struck as it also addresses the aspect of childless women – women who wished to have children but could not conceive. This exhibition offers them a space and makes them visible. What a precious contribution.

Elina Brotherus is also among the exhibiting artists, with a project I had wanted to share for some time. In 2018 I visited her exhibition ”It’s not Me, it’s a Photograph” a retrospective of her work at the Kunsthaus Wien Museum Hundertwasser. I knew the artist already, as I own a photograph of hers, which I love very much.

In this retrospective of her work in Vienna, I came across “Annonciation” a project about remaining childless. The images made a huge impact on me. Later she followed up with the project, “Carpe fucking diem”, of which there is an impressive catalogue. Elina managed to translate her hurt feelings and pain into such powerful photographs, pictures that totally echoed my own pain and experience. As I looked at the photographs, I was overwhelmed and even cried. She so movingly and powerfully spoke of my story, that was also her story, and certainly the story of so many other women.

Elina’s work was one of several artistic interpretations which accompanied me in my years of processing my own childlessness. It suggested to me that the topic was permeating into society, and becoming a theme for artists translating their own stories, or those of their kin, by addressing the feelings, sorrow and helplessness into works of art. Among the most engrossing examples for me were the film “The Kids are Alright” by Lisa Cholodenko, with Juliane Moore and Annette Bening, “Global Belly”, a play by Flinnworks, https://flinnworks.de/global-belly addressing the issue of surrogacy, and these very powerful photographs by Elina Brotherus.

Alongside her pictures, her words also speak for themselves; here is how she introduced both projects:

“ANNONCIATION (2009-2013)

This a story of false annunciations, about waiting for an angel who never shows up. First we don’t know if he’s there, because he could just be hiding behind the doorway. Gradually it becomes clear that he’s not coming.

Of course the angel is a metaphor because I’m not religious and I was going through five years of infertility treatment. What we learn about the subject in the media – documentaries, interviews, articles and TV programs on infertility – they all have a happy end. In reality, the success stories are rare, but they are the ones we hear of. For the rest of us, this biased broadcasting is upsetting. It’s as though the general public should not see the inconsolable reality but instead a cathartic ‘per aspera ad astra’ Hollywood story.

When in a treatment, one’s imagination is quick. One thinks of names and which school the child will go to. When the treatment is unsuccessful, it’s not exaggerated to say it feels like mourning someone who died. The loss is very concrete. Not only does one lose a child, one also loses a whole future life as a family.

Elina Brotherus, 2013

CARPE FUCKING DIEM (2011-2015)

Carpe Fucking Diem is the title of my sixth monograph designed by Teun van der Heijden and published in 2015 by Kehrer Verlag.

Carpe Fucking Diem is an attempt to reconstruct the meaning of life for a future that is not what I imagined it to be. Using myself as a model, with various degrees of autobiography, is something I have done for so long that my own figure has become my tool. It’s like a word in my vocabulary. Now I use it to talk about a failure to have a family with kids. Then one starts to look around with different eyes. I began to see the surprising and surreal undertones of the everyday life, not totally deprived of humor, because even an unhappy end is not The End. I don’t have children so I don’t need to adopt any preconceived role of an adult. I can give normality the finger. ‘Carpe Fucking Diem‘ is also about inventing strange games for the playground of the camera.

Photographs of the series were partly done in parallel with the Annonciation (2009-2013) series.”

What a contribution for so many of us who remain voiceless and cannot express or elaborate the pain we carry within.

Elina has graciously allowed me to post a selection of her photographs here, which I gladly do, hoping to reach many more affected to whom these works may have as consoling an effect as they had on me.

We are not alone in this.

Thank you, Elina. This project means so much to me.

All images courtesy of Elina Brotherus

Please see more of Elina’s projects under the following links:

https://www.elinabrotherus.com/still#/annonciation/
https://www.elinabrotherus.com/still#/carpe-fucking-diem/

https://www.elinabrotherus.com

The book Carpe Fucking Diem groups the two series Annonciation and Carpe Fucking Diem. It is stlll available through Elina‘s webshop if you would like to get a copy:
https://www.elinabrotherus.com/shop/carpe-fucking-diem