Susan Chainey Photo

©susanchainey

A Group Photo Exhibition at my Sawtooth Studio Mothers Day May 2023

I’ve always been pretty cynical about Mother’s Day (capitalistic commercialization, possible fascist roots,etc) But the holiday and my advanced age has prompted me to shift the paradigm a bit and think of Mother’s Day in a different way. The project is an exercise in conjuring our young mothers through the memories and objects that connect us with them. The photographs are not meant to be sentimental or even nostalgic. They are nods to the young people who happened to be our mothers. The objects and photographs are the artifacts of the deceased mothers of several friends. Although I did not know any of the women, learning about them through this gathering process was a kind of magical connection with both the mother and her living daughter.

(excerpt from Reverie With Fries, Poet Marjorie L.Taylor)

“Straight-spined girl—yes, you of the glinting earrings,

  amber skin and sinuous hair: what happened?
you’ve no business lunching with sticky children at McDonald’s..”

Why the lemons?

In Art

Lemons were a part of that classical heritage sought after and 

studied by anyone who was anyone during the Renaissance. By the late 1400’s and early 1500’s, lemons had taken on real symbolic weight, signifying longevity and healing.

In 17th Century Dutch still life paintings lemons became a symbol of luxury along with precious objects from all over the world – Venetian glass, silver, silk and even parrots. They were emblematic of a period of discovery, of new places and new flavors.

In Magic

Lemons are used in both love and separation spells, as well as cleansing. The oils and leaves of a lemon plant can be used in ritual baths. They can also be used as a way to “cleanse” your life of something, hence the separation aspect.

In Literature

Lemons are a symbol of cleansing and healing.

The lemon has come to symbolize many opposing ideas – while it’s considered a symbol of luxury, love and longevity, it’s also emblematic of sourness and disappointment. The lemon is bittersweet: its beauty at odds with the sharpness within.