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Worrying (Sh!t I Do)
Worrying (Sh!t I Do), 2025
Digital Composite Photograph with Digital Drawing
Framed Archival Pigment Print with Optium glazing
20.5 x 30.5 inches
Edition of 6 + 2AP
Working in digital color photography, I construct scenes featuring me, my children, or all of us.These compositions are influenced by the dynamics of our evolving relationship, my past experiences of disempowerment as a young girl under patriarchy, and the social context of our contemporary lives. The “Sh!t I Do’ series draws on Sara Ruddick’s “Maternal Thinking” (1989), which conceptualizes mothering as a form of physical, intellectual, and emotional labor, continually shaped by and responsive to the needs of the child and the surrounding environment. Using myself as the subject, I stage and composite photographs and digital drawings to create domestic scenes depicting a mother at work. She meets the viewer's gaze, insisting on acknowledgment of her labor. Some objects in these household scenes are contemporary “necessities”, while others allude to a bi-cultural home. The domestic setting may suggest comfort, but deeper consideration is needed. Outfits fashioned with pictures of demonetized Indian Rupees contextualize the mother’s subjectivity. Slips of paper pinned to her bodice concretize open tabs of worries while a sculpture of Hindu Goddess Saraswati, symbolic of the river of consciousness, gazes upon her (Worrying). Electronic devices reflect the ubiquitous presence of technology in contemporary life. Flowers obscure a young daughter coming of age and needing more privacy, while a safety alarm becomes necessary for her independent commute via public transportation (Subway Prep). A statue of a resting Buddha satirizes how men become heroes while their wives' contributions are forgotten (Cleaning). The pictures are framed in gold to reflect its importance to Indian women as a form of social security in patriarchal communities. Lace designs are inspired by the household textiles I grew up with, influenced by European techniques introduced during British colonization in India. I incorporate them to reference my cultural history and honor the essential, yet undervalued, creative labor of the women who came before me. The ongoing project hopes to prompt consideration of the value of motherwork and how its non-recognition may undermine self-worth. Ultimately, I aim to contribute to a broader narrative about women’s lived experiences while subverting cultural stereotypes of motherhood as eternally joyous, fulfilling, and instinctual.
SHWETA BIST
Shweta Bist (b. 1980, New Delhi) is an Indian American lens-based artist exploring themes of identity, memory, and perception through her pictorial compositions. Drawing from personal mythologies and using metaphors of color and symbolism, her implied narratives reflect on the emotional lives of women and mothers. Although her professional career began in the financial sector, it took a creative turn after she became a mother of two daughters. She currently maintains an independent studio practice in New York City. Shweta’s work has been exhibited nationally and internationally in juried and curated group shows, including at Woman Made Gallery, Ely Center for Contemporary Art, and Old Stone House Brooklyn (all in the US), and the Procreate Project Archive and Unit London in the UK. She has presented at academic and art conferences on (M)other Studies, and co-founded Mother Creatrix Collective (2022) to support member artists through critique, skill-sharing, and exhibition opportunities.
Worrying (Sh!t I Do), 2025
Digital Composite Photograph with Digital Drawing
Framed Archival Pigment Print with Optium glazing
20.5 x 30.5 inches
Edition of 6 + 2AP
Working in digital color photography, I construct scenes featuring me, my children, or all of us.These compositions are influenced by the dynamics of our evolving relationship, my past experiences of disempowerment as a young girl under patriarchy, and the social context of our contemporary lives. The “Sh!t I Do’ series draws on Sara Ruddick’s “Maternal Thinking” (1989), which conceptualizes mothering as a form of physical, intellectual, and emotional labor, continually shaped by and responsive to the needs of the child and the surrounding environment. Using myself as the subject, I stage and composite photographs and digital drawings to create domestic scenes depicting a mother at work. She meets the viewer's gaze, insisting on acknowledgment of her labor. Some objects in these household scenes are contemporary “necessities”, while others allude to a bi-cultural home. The domestic setting may suggest comfort, but deeper consideration is needed. Outfits fashioned with pictures of demonetized Indian Rupees contextualize the mother’s subjectivity. Slips of paper pinned to her bodice concretize open tabs of worries while a sculpture of Hindu Goddess Saraswati, symbolic of the river of consciousness, gazes upon her (Worrying). Electronic devices reflect the ubiquitous presence of technology in contemporary life. Flowers obscure a young daughter coming of age and needing more privacy, while a safety alarm becomes necessary for her independent commute via public transportation (Subway Prep). A statue of a resting Buddha satirizes how men become heroes while their wives' contributions are forgotten (Cleaning). The pictures are framed in gold to reflect its importance to Indian women as a form of social security in patriarchal communities. Lace designs are inspired by the household textiles I grew up with, influenced by European techniques introduced during British colonization in India. I incorporate them to reference my cultural history and honor the essential, yet undervalued, creative labor of the women who came before me. The ongoing project hopes to prompt consideration of the value of motherwork and how its non-recognition may undermine self-worth. Ultimately, I aim to contribute to a broader narrative about women’s lived experiences while subverting cultural stereotypes of motherhood as eternally joyous, fulfilling, and instinctual.
SHWETA BIST
Shweta Bist (b. 1980, New Delhi) is an Indian American lens-based artist exploring themes of identity, memory, and perception through her pictorial compositions. Drawing from personal mythologies and using metaphors of color and symbolism, her implied narratives reflect on the emotional lives of women and mothers. Although her professional career began in the financial sector, it took a creative turn after she became a mother of two daughters. She currently maintains an independent studio practice in New York City. Shweta’s work has been exhibited nationally and internationally in juried and curated group shows, including at Woman Made Gallery, Ely Center for Contemporary Art, and Old Stone House Brooklyn (all in the US), and the Procreate Project Archive and Unit London in the UK. She has presented at academic and art conferences on (M)other Studies, and co-founded Mother Creatrix Collective (2022) to support member artists through critique, skill-sharing, and exhibition opportunities.