Becoming a mother is a momentous event in any woman’s life and for many can overhaul their entire perception of self and identity. So much of our sense of self is tied up in how we are perceived by others.

Psychiatrist Alexandra Sacks compares the transition to motherhood to that undergone in adolescence where our whole role in society is changing combined with huge hormonal changes and that conflict between our old selves and our new. She claims that this can lead to women feeling like they must be depressed or they’re not normal for having these responses, when in fact it is entirely commonplace – it just isn’t talked about or portrayed in media.

Motherhood and Identity: Tattooed Mamas Breaking the Taboo focuses on tattooed mothers as a visual metaphor to question how the role of motherhood can subsume and overshadow women’s identities as individuals alongside the stereotypes surrounding motherhood and looks at the women behind the title ‘Mother’.