The artists’ book “10 Things I Did Not Do” contains a bathroom-mirror selfie in its silkscreened centerfold, printed with a list of care-giving tasks that were not done while the work was being made. “10 Things” is full of double-sided, heavy and transparent waxed xerox prints of worksheets and crafts made by my son (and his caregivers) at daycare. The work points to the reproductive labor that a mother is expected to perform, my pride in my son’s achievements, the distance I require, the labor of professional caregivers, and the chaotic mental space of mothering. Throw-away artifacts are translated and transformed, demanding a longer look at the conditions required to create them.
- KISS A BOO BOO
- WRITE A SHOPPING LIST
- CLEAN THE TOILET
- CALL MY MOTHER
- PACK LUNCHES
- READ ONE LAST BOOK
- IMPROVISE A SONG ABOUT TEAMWORK
- VACUUM
- LISTEN TO KNOCK KNOCK JOKES
- PAY BILLS
“10 Things” was made for the 10X10: 2018 Artists’ Book/Zine Swap box set, curated and organized by Trevor Powers for Fugitive Arts. In the collections of Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity (Paul D. Fleck Library and Archives), School of the Art Institute of Chicago (John M. Flaxman Library/The Joan Flasch Artists’ Book Collection, Yale University (Robert B. Haas Family Arts Library).
