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Parental Leave (2022-)
Parental Leave (2022–) is a meditation on contemporary parenthood as a form of invisible labour.
Parenthood blurs memory through routine and repetition. Bedrooms in constant flux, kitchens with the dishwasher constantly rolling, living rooms becoming toy bonanzas, dining tables becoming Jackson Pollock paintings, and domestic spaces playing constant catch-up; the work explores this inner-world bubble.
Family photographs have traditionally gravitated towards milestones, celebrations, and achievements. Parental Leave is concerned with what happens in between: the transitional moments that connect one event to another and quietly occupy most of our lives. Getting the children dressed, preparing meals, cleaning, waiting, carrying, negotiating, and constantly moving from one task to the next. These moments rarely announce themselves, yet they form the structure of daily life. In their repetition they often fade from memory even as they shape it. While contemporary parenthood is increasingly accompanied by advice, self-monitoring, and expectations of constant improvement, the reality of everyday family life remains surprisingly absent from representation beyond the family album. The project seeks to navigate through that liminal space.
Beginning with the birth of my son Einar and later expanding to include my daughter Freya, alongside my spouse Alexandra, Parental Leave emerged from the realization that much of family life unfolds outside the moments we choose to remember. By attending to what happens between milestones, celebrations, and achievements, the project seeks to broaden how parenthood, caregiving, and family life are understood and represented within contemporary culture.