A Whole Universe

A Whole Universe explores femininity, ageing, imperfection and motherhood through abstract studio images, in which the body itself is used as the primary material and carrier of meaning. Produced using a platinum/palladium (Pt/Pd) printing process.

A Whole Universe explores femininity, ageing, imperfection and motherhood through abstract studio images, to be produced using a slower, hand-based platinum/palladium (Pt/Pd) printing process. The series is shaped in part by my recent experience of becoming a mother and entering menopause at almost the same time. The project is built around staged studio photography — abstract, carefully constructed images rather than documentary observation — in which the body itself is used as the primary material and carrier of meaning.

My work focuses on the female body — and human experience more broadly — as a site of identity, memory, change and resilience. Completing A Whole Universe involves both a production phase (continuing studio shoots) and a technical development phase: perfecting a Pt/Pd hand-printing practice to produce the final prints. Pt/Pd resists the smooth, endlessly reproducible quality of digital photography. Each print is hand-coated, uniquely mixed and impossible to recreate in exactly the same way twice, qualities that mirror the series’ exploration of the ageing, imperfect and changing body.

Through this project, I want to bring more attention to women’s health, both physical and mental. Pregnancy, the postpartum period and menopause shape women’s lives for years, yet they remain under-researched and are often treated as something to simply get through. Women’s symptoms are still too often dismissed or misunderstood, and the mental strain that comes with these transitions is rarely discussed openly. Experiencing early motherhood and menopause at the same time made this gap very real to me.

I also want the work to point to the ongoing inequality that follows women through these stages of life. Becoming a mother still affects women’s income more than men’s, and many women, particularly those who are self-employed or in precarious work, are not fairly compensated during maternity leave. These differences add up over a lifetime and continue into retirement, where women’s pensions remain lower than men’s. The body in these images carries not only physical change but also the economic and social consequences of caring for others.

I want to use the grant to devote continuous, undisturbed time to developing A Whole Universe through to completion, and to bring these experiences, which are usually kept private, into a wider public conversation.