Inga Hoffmann
Embedded Files
Do you love me already?
Do you love me already?
Size: Variable, 42 x 59.4 cm in exhibition
Medium: Digital art printed on photo paper
Statement: This artwork shows the instant connection and initial bonding experience between mother and daughter, immediately after birth. Through the intense and unrealistic looking eyes, I wanted to capture the exhaustion both baby and mom experience in the process of giving birth. The pastel green background and outline of a frog symbolises change and transformation, and show the personal connection to my own birth, which took place in a hospital surrounded by ribbiting frogs.
Will we ever let go of each other?
Will we ever let go of each other?
Size: Variable, 42 x 59.4 cm in exhibition
Medium: Digital printed on photo paper
Statement: Through this artwork I did not only want to capture the physical act of holding, supporting and caring for someone, but also the emotional connection between mother and daughter which starts to form from day one and lasts a lifetime. Additionally, the black background shows the end of an era in my mother’s life, and symbolises the transformation of
becoming a parent and a mother and having to not only care for oneself.
Can I always rely on you to be there for me?
Can I always rely on you to be there for me?
Size: Variable, 21 x 21 cm in exhibition
Medium: Digital printed on photo paper
Statement: Stability and reliability are very important qualities when thinking about mother daughter relationships; both should be able to rely on each other and be a constant in each other’s life, in order to have a healthy relationship and benefit from each others presence. This is reflected through only using triangles in this piece, and how they all connect and ‘lean’ and ‘depend’ on each other, just like mother and daughter.
Will you always be by my side?
Will you always be by my side?
Size: Variable, each 29.7 x 42 cm in exhibition
Medium: Digital art printed on photo paper
Statement: The relationship between mother and daughter is constantly evolving and changing. I wanted to show this through a series of artworks, coloured in by hand, and capture the bond between both.
The bond starts to develop during pregnancy and continues to grow throughout life. Using only primary colours reflects a certain foundation on which the relationship is built, which can be used to create deeper understandings and connections, just like primary colours can be used to create secondary colours.
Are we blossoming?
Are we blossoming?
Size: Each of the three pieces 40 x 40 cm
Medium: Acrylic on canvas
Statement: This series of artworks focuses on the growth and development of the relationship between mother and daughter. Problems and rough patches can be worked through and the bond only grows stronger. Similar to a flower growing, the relationship needs to be nourished and taken care of and the beauty of it should not be taken for granted. The colours represent the different stages of life and how it goes from calmness and stability, to chaos and anger, back to finding a balance.
Are we the same?
Are we the same?
Size: 70 x 50 cm
Medium: Acrylic on canvas
Statement: This artwork was done based on a distorted scan of a photo I took of my mother and I. I used a long handled brush to try and paint with less control, to reflect how we have no say in who our parents or children are. Furthermore, the artwork deals with and examines the biological similarities and DNA that both mother and daughter share, as well as the biological processes of replication and of cell division and growth.
Was this meant to be?
Was this meant to be?
Size: Variable, 29.7 x 42 cm in exhibition
Medium: Digital printed on photo paper
Statement: We can not choose who our parents are, and us being their children is completely up to chance. This artwork showcases an intentional random selection of colours as this suggests that my mother and daughter relationship was up to chance and coincidence. It deals with the question of whether it was fate for a specific mother daughter duo to be a family and how they fit and work together.
Does the good really outweigh the evil?
Does the good really outweigh the evil?
Size: 100 x 75 cm
Medium: Acrylic on canvas
Statement: In any type of relationship, whether between mother and daughter or anyone else, there are always good and bad aspects. This piece represents the positive feelings, through the use of light and vibrant colours, and the sad times and moments of struggle through the use of darker colours.
Our relationship will keep changing, won’t it?
Our relationship will keep changing, won’t it?
Size: 80 x 60 cm
Medium: Acrylic mixed with sand on canvas
Statement: This artwork is supposed to represent the constant change the relationship between mother and daughter undergoes. The green reflects the growth and change through time, such as me, the daughter, growing up and finding my own way. Additionally, the different shades of green symbolize security and balance all found within this relationship, even during the constant developments. Sand was used to give some of the paint extra texture, indicating different stages and evolvement of this relationship.
Are we more than our bones?
Are we more than our bones?
Size: Each piece of series of three is 28 x 24 cm
Medium: Mixed media on canvas
Statement: The string, paint and styrofoam beads, all represent different things; string combined with the word ‘mother’ showcases the foundation, biologically and otherwise, the
mother provides for her daughter. The paint along with the word ‘influencing’ shows the effect the mother has on the daughter, and the different parts of mother found in daughter, are represented by the styrofoam beads. The series of artworks represent the building blocks and foundation that a mother provides for her daughter.
Curatorial Rationale
Curatorial Rationale
The overall theme of my exhibition is the relationship between mother and daughter. It focuses on themes such as the influence a mother has on her daughter, how the relationship changes and grows over time, the good and bad parts of the relationship, the chance or coincidence of this specific duo being a family and the immediate bond and connection that is built between them.
This topic is especially important and interesting to me, as I grew up with a single mother and as an only child. My mother was one of the few family members I grew up with and had an in depth relationship and connection with, and therefore she had a huge impact on me and my life. As I grew up, my mom was always the person I turned to whenever I had questions about life, or death or anything really. She is who I look up to and ask for help or support when I need it. To honour this, I decided to title all my artworks using questions, varying from specifics about our mother daughter relationship or fundamentals about life, showing how my mother is the one I rely on for guidance.
In the selection of works included in my exhibition, I made sure to add artworks made with a variety of materials and covering different themes and aspects of the relationship between mother and daughter.
The media used includes digital work printed on photo paper, acrylic paint on black or white canvases as well as mixed media, including string, styrofoam beads and sand mixed into paint. Incorporating digital work allowed me to create realistic looking portraits, as well as the experimentation with different styles and textures on the screen. I decided to paint on both black and white canvases, to bring some contrast and dimensions into my artworks and exhibition, and used it to express and explore different characteristics of this relationship.
When I was arranging my exhibition, I considered from where the audience would look first and how they would move past my artworks. I wanted to tell some sort of narrative and showcase the different aspects of our mother daughter relationship and its effects on my life.
For the section the audience would see first, I decided to start off by including the work Do you love me already? to communicate the beginning of the relationship and the immediate bond it starts off with. Below, I placed the series titled Will you always be by my side? which I thought was fitting to show how the relationship would only grow and further develop from there on.
The next part of the wall includes the most amount of art pieces, as it has the most room. Connected to the series on the first section of the wall, I decided to place another series, Are we blossoming?, to further show growth and changes that the relationship of mother and daughter go through, including both the ups and downs. Next to this I decided to place the artworks Are we the same?, Was this meant to be? and Can I always rely on you to be there for me? to let the audience explore the coincidence and chance of my creation and me ending up as my mother’s daughter, and how we work and fit together. The following segment of this wall is made up of the artworks, Does the good really outweigh the evil? and Are we more than our bones?, both discussing fundamentals of the relationship between mother and daughter, including the balance and conflict between the good and bad moments, and how these parts and us both influence each other.
The final section of my exhibition is made up of the two artworks, Will we ever let go of each other? and Our relationship will keep changing, won’t it?, both about changes in life and how these affect the relationship between mother and daughter. The first change being from becoming an adult and turning into a parent, and secondly me a daughter growing up and finding my own path, and how this begins a new chapter and lead to changes in certain aspects of our relationship.
Page updated
Report abuse