This artwork is part of our Sydney Contemporary 2024 presentation, exhibiting at Carriageworks 5-8 September.

Amber Hearn’s latest body of work is a series of self-portraits woven into landscapes that capture the anticipation of the arrival of her daughter, speaking to both the emotional and physical shifts within the body. The works highlight the complexities of labour and childbirth, whilst encapsulating the symbiotic relationship between the pain and beauty of that experience.

Says Amber of this work, “Mother Told Me Is a self-portrait landscape that explores the internal feminine forms and pathways within us. It reflects fertilisation themes, information storage in eggs, and the cellular lineage passed from mother to child. The fluorescent pink veil symbolises both a pathway for emergence and a grounding space. This piece delves into how I was birthed in ways like my mother, encompassing anatomical, energetic, and emotional continuities from mother to daughter. It is a tribute to the recent birth of my daughter.”