A Beautiful Mess Installation Embraces the Journey of Motherhood

The art installation project idea came from mothers who experience guilt, exhaustion, blues, insecurities, and even depression in the most complicated job they could bear. Yet, being a mother is the most rewarding job she ever has as her life becomes more meaningful with the presence of the little one. Therefore, the project aims to embrace the journey of motherhood as a harmony of all the beauty and the mess, resonating with mothers' silent struggles to let them know that they are seen and heard. They are not alone. 

The art installation itself is a multidisciplinary collaboration of architecture, building materials, craftsmanship, photography, and website design to manifest a powerful message about women's empowerment, self-love, and acceptance of mothers. More than just about motherhood, the installation also embodies sustainability and collaboration between design and craftsmanship that creates a new value for discarded items as part of building materials.

©Mario Wibowo

A translucent cubical shelter is engraved with numerous keywords of expression collected from many mothers worldwide, representing how mothers protect their children through dynamic physical and emotional journeys. The leftovers of Sandei window blinds fabric are combined and woven by ByoLiving into a hyperbolic shape of a mother's womb, with the breathing lighting effects designed by ErreLuce representing life inside the womb. The terrazzo floor is manufactured from cement casting combined with colourful acrylic waste, demonstrating how ordinary materials can be seen as nothing but extraordinary when processed in a new way.

©Helen Agustine

Furthermore, as part of the award-winning Wonders of Weaving "Solidarity Resilience" program, the installation is utilised as a public retail of sustainable products. The sinking space reminisces the feeling of a mother's cradle. People can sit and chill on the pedestal surrounding this sinking space while shopping and experiencing the space simultaneously. 

©Mario Wibowo

The building is constructed with a knock-down system that makes it possible to be easily moved to another location, with passive cooling applied using an operable glass partition that allows natural cross ventilation inside the building.

©Helen Agustine

In an exploration of the motherhood journey through an art installation, a companion website made by Antikode featuring the moments captured by photographers Carol Kuntjoro and Janji, as well as words by Typerfect, becomes a digital way of amplifying the messages. This spirit of collaboration has brought the campaign of solidarity resilience to be heard, demonstrated, and instilled in the current society, both in physical and digital form. 

©Ryan Salim