Peel Gallery exhibition shows local artists' work about motherhood

Abigail McAlister — artist, mother and freelance content creator from Durham knows that motherhood is a multi-faceted journey. This universal truth is exactly what her exhibit “A Mother is a House” centers around. 

The exhibit opened for viewing on Feb. 5 at Peel Gallery in Carrboro. The gallery, which is also an art store, frequently features local artists' work in the back space of the store.

“It seems to all be about timing, really, if an artist has a body of work to show and if it fits within the space and the gallery parameters," Mimi Stockton, professional printmaker and assistant director of Peel, said about exhibitions.

For McAlister, the timing was right for her exhibition, which is a two-year culmination born out of the experiences she had from her daughter’s birth, postpartum, early childhood and the attempt at capturing as many of those moments as possible.

The exhibit is filled with different ephemera from her home and her daughter’s early life, including bottle nipples and an old stroller.

One piece at the back even holds a part of a cloth that McAlister wore when weaning her daughter off of breastfeeding. In the process of weaning, McAlister had her daughter paint her breasts and then push them into the fabric to work through this time in their lives.

In addition to the various personal objects, on one side of the wall, there are bricks stacked on top of each other, each adorned with a different item, including glow-in-the-dark stars, lace and pieces of confetti. The bricks are physical symbols of the connection between home and motherhood.

Above these bricks is the first piece McAlister made for the exhibition called “The End.”

Made of different shades of thick yarn linked together, the work is meant to represent surrendering to the process of change that motherhood inevitably brings.

“When I first made this piece, it was a lot closer knit and as time has gone on, it’s gotten a lot more saggy,” she said. “And that’s interesting to me, because that's what our bodies do, like things change and things move.”

There is also a hidden message sewn into this piece that was inspired by her separation from her daughter’s father — which she invites viewers to decipher themselves.

A carpet of McAlister’s with more bricks atop it then separates this section of the exhibit from the opposing wall, which has various wood pieces covered in more memories of McAlister’s experiences with motherhood.

One of these pieces is entitled “Who’s Left To Hold The Baby,” and represents McAlister’s ongoing struggles with postpartum and her hair loss.

“Just acknowledging all of the things that you have to let go of, surrender and sacrifice to be a mom and to continue showing up daily,” she said about the piece.

Hailey Clodfelter, an M.A. student at UNC who is also a photographer, curator and communications director at Peel, photographed each section of the gallery as “install shots” for McAlister to have for herself, and to display for those who cannot view the gallery in person.

“I’ll do each one of these pieces individually because each one is an individual piece,” she said, showcasing the intricacy of the exhibit. “Then I’ll do this entire wall, that entire wall, this entire wall. And then kind of the entire gallery.”

McAlister first showcased this exhibit at North Star in Durham, and during the original showing, she carried a brick with her the whole time to demonstrate the weight that motherhood carries.

Though McAlister has worked on this exhibition for some time, this sentiment still holds true for her, and she hopes to share this story with those who view her work, which will be on display at Peel until March 9 and will feature an opening exhibition on Feb. 14.

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