Octopus - The octopus is the epitome of the sacrifices of a mother.

Before an octopus meets a mate she glows, she swims, glides, radiates and boasts the brightest and most beautiful of colours. She has optimal health and lives happily in the depths of the ocean or the coral reefs and everywhere in between. While out and about, living her best life she meets a mate. If she decides he isn’t for her she kills him. I love that for her. If she decides to let him smash, she gets pregnant and her instinct is to preserve her strength. She finds a dark, quiet place to hide out to lay her eggs. During this time she refuses to eat, sleep or move. She guards her babies. This can take on average between 1 to 6 months but has been recorded to take up to 4 years! During that time she defies the rules of nature! Somehow she stays alive! During this time her energy depletes, she becomes weaker and weaker, her colour disappears and she turns grey; literally transforming into the corpse that will become her. By the time her eggs finally hatch, if she is lucky enough, she will just about have the energy to blow a couple of times upwards in order to direct her babies towards a safe space for them to start their lives. Then she dies! Imagine that!

We, as mothers, are expected to just “get on with it”, but every time time you’re rudely woken up throughout the night, you feel as if this lack of sustainability is literally killing you!! Breastfeeding newborns is exhausting! Especially if mama had a difficult pregnancy, or birth, had to have a cesarean, has any underlying health issues or lacks adequate support. This painting is a tribute to every single night feed, every single cracked nipple, every drop of vomit we pull out of our messy unbrushed hair! This is a gift of love for the mothers who get to thankfully look back and say, “damn that was tough!” and feel empowered that they DID that! And a beacon of hope for the new recruits, you will make it out of the trenches soon! Keep going!

Acrylic and gouache paint on a deep edges canvas. 120cm x 150cm