1 Year of Motherhood

The work proposes a subtle parallel between the first year of motherhood and the child’s first year of life. Two anniversaries that coincide in time, yet which social conventions place on different planes: before birth, the woman occupies the centre of attention, while with the arrival of the child, she seems to gradually recede from the foreground, as the child becomes the protagonist of the new family narrative. Before birth, the expectant mother finds herself at the centre of an entire ritual of anticipation. Her body is observed, protected, questioned, and celebrated. The care of others is focused on her wellbeing, and pregnancy grants her a particular visibility. After birth, however, the centre of gravity shifts almost instantly. The question “How are you feeling?” is replaced by “How is the baby?”, and the woman moves from being the subject of attention to becoming the environment through which the newcomer’s growth, protection, and wellbeing are ensured. In this sense, the cake can also be seen as an image of a paradoxical celebration. Its delicate, almost festive and domestic decoration contrasts with the idea of a maternal identity that is often formed quietly, beyond the gaze of others. The child’s first year is measured through visible milestones—the first smile, the first steps, the first words—while the mother’s first year is made up of transformations that are far more difficult to quantify: adaptation, relinquishment, vulnerability, resilience, the redefining of the body, and the negotiation of a new identity. In front of the cake, Elleny leaves the viewer in a state of anticipation: who is about to be celebrated? The candle and the number one tell both the story of the child’s first year of life and that of the woman who, over twelve months, has learned to become a mother, yet whose presence has been relegated to the background.