Maternal Orbits

Maternal Orbits reimagines the way family, care, and human connection are recorded. Inspired by celestial maps and planetary systems, the series places a single woman at the center of an orbital network that reflects the relationships, influences, and acts of creation that shape a life.

In contrast to traditional family trees, which prioritize linear ancestry and patriarchal structures, Maternal Orbits visualizes family as a dynamic system of interconnected relationships. Children, partners, siblings, friends, chosen family members, and lost pregnancies are represented as part of an evolving constellation, acknowledging that families are formed not only through biology but through care, memory, and shared experience.

The series emerged from my experience of early motherhood during the COVID-19 pandemic, a period that revealed both the profound importance of community and the often-invisible labor of caregiving. As I navigated postpartum recovery, I became increasingly aware of the social systems that shape motherhood: the expectations placed on women, the absence of communal support, and the ways knowledge surrounding reproduction, loss, and caregiving is often hidden or undervalued.

At its core, Maternal Orbits is an exploration of human interconnectedness. It considers how our identities are formed through relationships and how every life is shaped by a network of visible and invisible influences extending across generations. By positioning women as central rather than peripheral figures, the series honors the creative, emotional, and generational labor that sustains families and communities.

Ultimately, Maternal Orbits asks us to reconsider what defines a family, whose stories are recorded, and how we might better recognize the countless relationships that help shape who we become.