Dunja Opalko, on her Creative Mothers project

Having given birth to a daughter in the summer of 2020, photographer Dunja Opalko was immediately confronted with the realities of juggling family and professional life as a self-employed person – made all the more difficult by the pandemic’s stop/start effect on work that year. Inspired to seek out other women going through the same thing, Dunja––alongside writer Tessa Pearson––embarked upon a new personal project, titled Creative Mothers.

The result is a tender exploration of the often blurred lines between the domestic and the creative which women frequently face. Whilst the experience of new motherhood can be isolating at the best of times [without factoring how this is exacerbated by being self-employed], the women in this series are united by Opalko’s lens.

I wanted to start by mentioning a tweet [from February 2023] from the critic Jerry Saltz which read, ‘Artists: When you are making art you don’t have a partner or children. You don’t have anything. You have you and the work with nothing in your way.’ What is your initial reaction to that sentiment? 

I think as an artist or as a photographer, for me, you give everything from yourself. So while you work, nothing else matters, because your creativity and all of that that you give is coming from you. However, I think obviously ‘you don’t have a family,’ just isn’t realistic for many of us. We need to juggle. 

So in the heat of the moment, while you’re doing the making, it’s true? But not in general.

Yes that’s how I feel. When I’m working I’m just at one with my work, but at the same time, who I am is based on my circumstances. Becoming a mother teaches me a lot about myself, and that’s changing me so my work practice will change because of that. Everything works together.

Have your artistic priorities changed much since becoming a mother? Other than the amount of time and energy you are able to devote to your practice but what you actually want to achieve creatively?

I think I’m a lot more reflective. Obviously I need to look at my schedule and see what I can do in a short amount of time, but I also feel like it’s given me a lot more ways of being reflective about what I want to take on and who I want to work with. Narrowing things down. Before when it was just me I felt like I could do anything, now I need to focus my time. 

Before, I would be able to accommodate any conditions, now I’d be much more confident to be a lot more decisive. 

And creatively?

Either it has to be financially beneficial or it needs to push my creativity or it has to be a lot of fun. So I have to decide. If something doesn’t satisfy my creative needs… I’m also doing a lot of personal work and so I’m having to push that. And just going with the flow.

Returning to this project, apart from the fact that it ties in with your own background, is there a reason why the women you approached all sit within creative industries specifically? Do you suppose there is a different experience for creative women as opposed to in other industries?

I actually started off thinking about specifically self-employed women and somehow it ended up naturally evolving to creative. I was working with a writer called Tessa Pearson and we were throwing ideas around about who to approach and it really quickly become about women in the creative field. All self-employed too. It’s our community. Being creative has so much to do with who you are. When you are creative you are giving something that nobody else has, it’s unique and special. 

Did you draw a conclusion, without being monolithic, about what the experience actually is for creative mothers?

We have unconditional love for our kids and for our work. Staying creative and looking after children is really challenging. I have emails coming through and I need to edit shoots and I need to stay productive, plus I really thrive when I work. But I have limited childcare and I need to look after somebody at the same time. It’s really challenging. Loving both things so much is quite a blessing and a curse.

How did you observe other factors, like class, race, age etc, effecting the creative mother experience, during the course of this project?

I tried to approach a range of different women from the perspective of what we have in common: which is the love for what we do. It was more about the family aspect and the creative approach.

I’m interested to know how accessible you find the world of art museums and galleries, not as an artist who is a mother, but as an art lover who is a mother. Do you find that they are welcoming spaces for people with families, and if not, what could be done differently?

I think it’s amazing. In London especially. So much stuff you can do with kids. I go to the Tate a lot with my daughter and there are a lot of activities. It’s important for me that she grows up in this world and to make seeing exhibitions a regular thing. My partner is also in the creative field so we both want her to learn that this is a part of our life. London has so many options for this.

I’d love to know about some of your favourite images from art history or contemporary art which explore motherhood in some way.

I’ve been following Lisa Sorgini’s work for years and I love the intimacy of it. I think the way she works has been really inspiring to me. Even before I had children the warmth and richness of Lisa’s work inspired me to want to do something around this topic. It’s so intimate and so beautiful and so raw.

See more Creative Mothers here, and more from Dunja Opalko via her website and Instagram.