Rebekka Macht: Fragile Wings of Motherhood

Gallery 1957 is delighted to present Fragile Wings of Motherhood , the first solo exhibition of 2025 by Rebekka Macht. This new body of work is curated by Azu Nwagbogu and follows a five-month residency with the gallery in Accra.

Artist & Curator Talk | 5pmPearl Meeting RoomOpening Reception | 6 – 9pm16th January 2025Gallery II, Accra

For her first solo exhibition in Accra, Ghana with Gallery 1957, artist Rebekka Macht offers a reflective body of work that embarks on a personal and profound exploration of motherhood—an institution revered yet fraught with complexities often left unspoken. Through her evocative practice, Macht captures the multifaceted essence of maternal existence, weaving together themes of protection, vulnerability, and societal entanglement.

Motherhood, as rendered in her art, emerges as both a solitary and collective experience. It is a realm of veritable paradoxes: the mother is never alone yet lonely. The denial of self is refreshed in the nurture and selfless act of love and devotion to others. There is a slow transfiguration of identity, and the metamorphosis of body, mind, and soul is a collective and wholly intangible process that finds artistic expression in abstract expressionist art, in which Macht has found solace. The underlying sensibility that drives this creative energy is fear. Fear is a much-maligned yet endlessly renewable energy source when ordered and channeled.

In Fragile Wings of Motherhood, Macht recognises the anxieties of raising two Black children. She internalises those fears, refines and articulates them, and thereby finds creative freedom in expressing herself. Macht’s work is deeply personal, drawing from her experiences as a single mother of boys. Her paintings navigate the complex terrain of raising biracial children, addressing the anxieties and unique challenges that arise from this intersection of identities. The artist’s self-portraits offer a female gaze perspective on depictions of women and single motherhood, while her androgynous portrait paintings question traditional notions of gender and identity.

Her reflections traverse the terrains of racial and cultural identity, particularly the layered experiences of raising Black children in disparate geographical contexts. Macht’s art challenges viewers to reconsider preconceived notions of motherhood, particularly single motherhood. By focusing on alternative narratives of masculinity and motherhood, she creates a space for dialogue about the evolving nature of family structures and gender roles in contemporary society. The exhibition invites viewers to contemplate the myriad ways in which mothers navigate their identities, fears, and aspirations in an ever-changing world.

Through Macht’s deconstructed yet evocative imagery, we are challenged to piece together a new understanding of motherhood – one that embraces complexity, vulnerability, and strength. For the family, and her sons in particular, there is an evolved sense of masculinity; one that embraces maternal fragility and care.

The images she crafts are both tender and unflinching, capturing the raw essence of a world where the personal is inextricably linked to the collective. Through her lens, motherhood is not merely a biological or social role but a profound act of resistance and creation, a testament to the enduring spirit of care in the face of uncertainty. Through Fragile Wings of Motherhood, we begin to sense that identity—home, gender, race—as constructed by society, dissolves into one big pot of our collective humanity.

– Excerpt of Curatorial Text by Azu Nwagbogu.

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