Holding on for dear life

PHOTOGRAPHY

Aug 1

The work of photographer Angela Shaffer brings visibility to hidden aspects of mothering. She explores the psychology, vulnerability and banality of motherhood. Her black and white images are intimate and show the emotional bond between her and her son.

Text and Photography Angela Shaffer

Motherhood magnifies the severity and fragility of time. As my son rapidly grows into new versions of himself, I beg for time to slow. These photographs are a response to the emotional labor of motherhood in relation to the persistence of time. Staged tableaus depict my neuroses as fictions. Functioning as both document and metaphor, the images reference impermanence, loss, fear, and uncertainty of what lies ahead.

With a mixture of sentiment and anxiety, the control I bring to the image making feels necessary to wrestle with my son’s burgeoning independence. As he continues to age, I attempt to contain him. Time is a thief and photographs become a way to cope.

About Angela

Angela was recently named a Finalist for the Palm Photo Prize 2022. Her work has been featured in exhibitions with Woman Made Gallery (IL), Spilt Milk Gallery (UK), The Artist/ Mother Podcast (TN), Arts Mill (WI), The University of Iowa (IA), and Art Saint Louis (MO). She was a 2021 Critical Mass Finalist with PhotoLucida and she has shared work through an Instagram Residency with DearArtists.

Angela (b. 1983, Pennsylvania) received her B.S. in Art Education from Asbury University and was a High School Art Teacher for five years in Garrard County, KY. She currently lives in Columbia, MO where she is in her third year as an MFA candidate and Graduate Teaching Assistant at the University of Missouri’s School of Visual Studies.

To see more of her work, visit her website or follow her on Instagram

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Holding on for dear life

The work of photographer Angela Shaffer brings visibility to hidden aspects of mothering. She explores the psychology, vulnerability and banality of motherhood. Her black and white images are intimate and show the emotional bond between her and her son.

With a mixture of sentiment and anxiety, the control I bring to the image making feels necessary to wrestle with my son’s burgeoning independence. As he continues to age, I attempt to contain him. Time is a thief and photographs become a way to cope.

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