In the video “Janske-Guitar”, artist Jan Adriaans returns to his parents’ house and films his mother playing his electric guitar in the attic – the dwelling of his childhood/teenage years.
http://www.janadriaans.com/index.php?/videos/03-janske-guitar/
‘I M U U R 2’ (2012) by Danh Vo.
Vo has long been fascinated by the life and work of Martin Wong, a visionary painter and beloved figure of New York’s downtown art scene of the 1980s and ’90s. After acquiring one of Wong’s works, he struck up a correspondence with the artist’s mother, Florence Wong Fie, and eventually visited her home in San Francisco. There, he discovered a remarkable collection of objects ranging from curios and tourist souvenirs to rare antique ceramics and scrolls of calligraphy, interspersed with numerous examples of Wong’s paintings and works on paper.
‘On-going going-on’ (2005) by Maurice Bogaert.
Maurice Bogaert tattooed his parents autographs on his feet. On the left foot his mothers and on the right foot his fathers.
Alex van Warmerdam, ‘De Noorderlingen’ (‘The Northerners’) (1992)
A surreal black comedy set in a decrepit 1960’s housing development. When his mother is drawn into sainthood and the resulting frustrations of his father become too difficult to manage, Thomas, a young boy, becomes obsessed with events on the broadcast news. The liberation of the Belgian Congo is taking place and Thomas becomes Lumumba, one of the contenders as the Congo’s new leader. He is encouraged in this escapism by Plagge, the postman who reads all the mail and knows all of the bizzarre and intimate secrets of the eccentric inhabitants of the estate.
Roman Ondák, ‘Teaching to walk’ (2002)
Every day a young mother spent half an hour in the gallery helping her child take its first steps.
Song Dong, ‘Waste Not’ (2005)
The installation comprises over 10.000 items collected by Song Dong’s mother, Zhao Xiangyuan, over five decades – ranging from a section of the family home, to metal pots and plastic bowls to blankets, bottle caps, toothpaste tubes and toys.
This was a practice where the mother, often disguised or hiding, often under a spread, holds her baby tightly for the photographer to ensure a sharply focused image.
From The Hidden Mother
‘An angle of 180 degrees is a straight line or half a circle’ (2007) by Aldo Giannotti
The artist’s mother hanging upside-down.
