Pitchfork   The Dissolve   Festivals: Chicago | Paris
DANGEROUS OBJECTS MADE SAFER

In a typewritten letter, Lenka Clayton announced why she started her conceptual Artist Residency In Motherhood:

"I find now that many aspects of the professional art world are closed to artists with families. Most prestigious artist residencies for example specifically exclude families from attending…"

Her artist's statement finishes:

"I will undergo this self-imposed artist residency in order to fully experience and explore the fragmented focus, nap-length studio time, limited movement and resources and general upheaval that parenthood brings and allow it to shape the direction of my work, rather than try to work "despite it".

Since beginning her residency in September, Clayton has produced around 16 works and maintained an extensive studio diary. True to her original mission, her work explores the duties of motherhood including a sculptural proposal about child-proofing a curator's office, an archive of items found in babies' mouths, a pair of baby pants made from the child's great-grandfather's pants, and a collection of potentially dangerous items rendered in soft fabric.