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SAMMY SEUNG-MIN LEE

ARTIST'S BOOK

According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, over 60 percent of mothers seek cosmetic surgery to return to their pre-pregnancy bodies. The breast lift is the most popular procedure, and it’s no wonder. Pert, youthful breasts are symbols of power and beauty — a stark contrast to oddly enlarged, pigmented, and sometime leaky breasts that often follow pregnancy.

But poor self-image following pregnancy has both physical and psychological elements. For many mothers, public nursing is uncomfortable, and being seen with a bottle of breast milk can be as embarrassing as if one was holding a bottle filled with urine. Speaking from experience, I can assure you that there is nothing more humiliating than being attached to an electric breast pump, like some Jersey cow.

Mammorial is thus an artist book about what women experience through birthing and nursing. Throughout one’s bodily changes, there is an inherent duality of both pride and shame. I gave birth to my second son in 2015, nearly a decade after my first. My older body struggled to carry, deliver, and sustain a newborn the second time around. While part of me viewed my postpartum body with gratitude and awe, I felt a fair amount of pity and embarrassment as well.

I conceived of Mammorial upon discovering a Korean portrait of a bare-chested woman from the late 1800s. It was a rather scandalous image given Korea’s conservative culture at the time; societal norms suggested that women’s curves were best concealed in public until one bears a child and nurses. I imagined this mother and other women of the past celebrating their physiques, perhaps like today’s feminist protesters. Inspired, I embarked on a project of my own to both showcase and process the physical and psychological shifts of motherhood.

Mammorial centers around 16 histological images featuring the microscopic anatomy of breast cells and tissues. Documenting various stages from pregnancy to involution, the images mimic botanic changes through seasonal cycles: the transformation and proliferation of milk-producing cells blossom like flowers in spring and summer. The visual parallels highlight the beautiful, natural, and functional aspects of breasts, in addition to the temporal changes triggered by motherhood.

And yet, breastfeeding is no walk in the park. Within Mammorial’s silicone breast are printed stories from frustrated and anxious mothers, pulled from the online breastfeeding support forum, La Leche League International. From sleepless nights to pumping schedule conflicts, motherhood is filled with anxiety, fear, and frustration. I was particularly empathetic to a discussion thread about the sounds of a breast pump, often heard as “chanting” to many mothers who are sleep-deprived, and awake at 3 in the morning to nurse their crying babies. An enclosed CD mixes the rhythmic emissions of my own breast pump on various settings.

Special thanks to Dr. Lora Barke, breast radiology specialist of Invision Sally Jobe Imaging Services in Denver, Colorado.

According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, over 60 percent of mothers seek cosmetic surgery to return to their pre-pregnancy bodies. The breast lift is the most popular procedure, and it’s no wonder. Pert, youthful breasts are symbols of power and beauty — a stark contrast to oddly enlarged, pigmented, and sometime leaky breasts that often follow pregnancy.

But poor self-image following pregnancy has both physical and psychological elements. For many mothers, public nursing is uncomfortable, and being seen with a bottle of breast milk can be as embarrassing as if one was holding a bottle filled with urine. Speaking from experience, I can assure you that there is nothing more humiliating than being attached to an electric breast pump, like some Jersey cow.

Mammorial is thus an artist book about what women experience through birthing and nursing. Throughout one’s bodily changes, there is an inherent duality of both pride and shame. I gave birth to my second son in 2015, nearly a decade after my first. My older body struggled to carry, deliver, and sustain a newborn the second time around. While part of me viewed my postpartum body with gratitude and awe, I felt a fair amount of pity and embarrassment as well.

I conceived of Mammorial upon discovering a Korean portrait of a bare-chested woman from the late 1800s. It was a rather scandalous image given Korea’s conservative culture at the time; societal norms suggested that women’s curves were best concealed in public until one bears a child and nurses. I imagined this mother and other women of the past celebrating their physiques, perhaps like today’s feminist protesters. Inspired, I embarked on a project of my own to both showcase and process the physical and psychological shifts of motherhood.

Mammorial centers around 16 histological images featuring the microscopic anatomy of breast cells and tissues. Documenting various stages from pregnancy to involution, the images mimic botanic changes through seasonal cycles: the transformation and proliferation of milk-producing cells blossom like flowers in spring and summer. The visual parallels highlight the beautiful, natural, and functional aspects of breasts, in addition to the temporal changes triggered by motherhood.

And yet, breastfeeding is no walk in the park. Within Mammorial’s silicone breast are printed stories from frustrated and anxious mothers, pulled from the online breastfeeding support forum, La Leche League International. From sleepless nights to pumping schedule conflicts, motherhood is filled with anxiety, fear, and frustration. I was particularly empathetic to a discussion thread about the sounds of a breast pump, often heard as “chanting” to many mothers who are sleep-deprived, and awake at 3 in the morning to nurse their crying babies. An enclosed CD mixes the rhythmic emissions of my own breast pump on various settings.

Special thanks to Dr. Lora Barke, breast radiology specialist of Invision Sally Jobe Imaging Services in Denver, Colorado.

Māyā-bheda is the second collaboration on India with Boulder based photographer Joshua Bergeron. The images were taken in October 2015, during the Bengali holiday of Durga Puja, in the capital of West Bengal – Kolkata, India. Using a combination of images from an iPhone as well as a conventional digital point and shoot camera, images were captured candidly within the documentary and street photography genre. The construction of the case and interior components are based upon the design of the original Kodak camera released in 1888, by George Eastman, which in many ways brought portable photography to the masses.

In Hinduism, the term Māyā-bheda refers to the destruction of perceived reality. The book serves as a vehicle to examine the assumptions and perceived realities of India for both Bergeron and I. The cameras used for images and the graduated orange lens on the outer shell of the book explores the notions of how India is interpreted by optical tools. For viewers, the interactive viewing experience of the book will offer a chance to examine their own perceived realities of India.

Māyā-bheda is the second collaboration on India with Boulder based photographer Joshua Bergeron. The images were taken in October 2015, during the Bengali holiday of Durga Puja, in the capital of West Bengal – Kolkata, India. Using a combination of images from an iPhone as well as a conventional digital point and shoot camera, images were captured candidly within the documentary and street photography genre. The construction of the case and interior components are based upon the design of the original Kodak camera released in 1888, by George Eastman, which in many ways brought portable photography to the masses.

In Hinduism, the term Māyā-bheda refers to the destruction of perceived reality. The book serves as a vehicle to examine the assumptions and perceived realities of India for both Bergeron and I. The cameras used for images and the graduated orange lens on the outer shell of the book explores the notions of how India is interpreted by optical tools. For viewers, the interactive viewing experience of the book will offer a chance to examine their own perceived realities of India.

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