In Accra, Ghana, Gallery 1957 has opened its 2025 season with Fragile Wings of Motherhood, a striking debut solo exhibition by German artist Rebekka Macht. Curated by Azu Nwagbogu, the exhibition emerges from a five-month residency and dives headfirst into the raw, unvarnished realities of motherhood.
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.
Visually, her works are acts of discombobulation, formal detonation, and fragmentation where human bodies, particularly those of her children, are meticulously positioned to articulate the fragility and resilience of familial bonds. The central architectural installation in the exhibition has an arch-like protective dome over the fragmented figures. This is symbolic of safety and evocative of the nest for children who will eventually metamorphose, grow wings, and fly. It is not the change that comes with age that holds fear for the mother, but rather the wings that unfold on the children's backs just before they set out to fly.
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