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Ancient Art: Motherhood's Evolving Meanings
15 Jun
Summary
- Exhibition explores how ancient images of motherhood gain new meanings.
- Artworks show the survival and adaptation of iconography across cultures.
- The show questions societal views on femininity and parenthood.
An exhibition co-curated by Naman Ahuja and Andrea Anastasio explores the enduring nature of motherhood iconography across cultures and time. Titled 'One Mother, Many Mother Tongues,' it features 24 artworks, including significant pieces from India and Italy, examining how images travel and acquire new interpretations.
The exhibition highlights the paradox that while viewers recognize a mother and child motif, each interprets it uniquely based on their background. It challenges notions of motherhood as the sole source of feminine agency and questions societal focus on the feminine role in parenthood.
Artworks like the Hariti from Skarah Dheri and Italy's Mater Matuta demonstrate how pre-Christian and ancient imagery has influenced later depictions, such as the Madonna and Child. This showcases how visual forms survive societal changes, religious shifts, and the collapse of empires.
The curators emphasize the complexity of identities that persist through iconography, despite globalization. They also differentiate between public monumental sculptures and smaller, mass-produced works for domestic spaces, illustrating the varied ways images function and evolve.
