SORRY I GAVE BIRTH I DISAPPEARED BUT NOW I'M BACK - Andi Galdi Vinko: "For a very long time, motherhood was considered somewhat taboo in the art world. For as long as I can remember, the female role models I admired spoke openly about their choice of career over family. Some may have had children, but never spoke about their insecurities or sacrifices. The age limits for artist and talent awards are usually 35 or younger. But once a woman reaches 30, she is often considered old and her biological clock "ticks". The years to make the choice between having children or being successful are short and coincide with the years when either could happen, but nothing is guaranteed.
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\nWhen I realized I was pregnant, I had no idea what was in store for me. The messiness, the brutality, the unpredictability and the uncontrollability of motherhood compared to the images I had in my head from movies, photos and paintings made by men. At the time, I was an emerging artist, traveling and going to art fairs and openings. Today, I am a mother of two and I hope that the years I lost as a mother can be written on my resume without guilt or shame.
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\nThis work in progress, which will always be a work in progress, is about becoming, understanding, and remembering. Trying not to forget all these things that once seemed so important, and just when you think you know them, another challenge arises. How can something as universal as motherhood be so lonely? How is it that we all have to experience it and there are no answers to all these struggles? What about our bodies, our hormones, our thoughts, our friends, our loves? Our careers, our homes, our dishes, our laundry, our sexual desires? What happened to our freedom, our showers, our hours of sleep?
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\nI love being a mother. I also loved being an artist."
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\nSigned copy with a foreword by Charlotte Jansen.
