Las Mujeres

Maternity was the subject of one of my first series of paintings I worked on.

For many, the mother figure is a sacred object, immaculate, perfect, untouchable, disregarding the fact that mothers are women and women are human beings, imperfect by definition, capable of committing mistakes, with virtues and defects like everyone else.

It is almost as if mothers must wear a special mask to let everyone know they are perfect and deserve the recognition and adoration. Mothers can be excessively present, excessively loving; a smothering love, a cubist love.

 We are used to think in terms of absolute values, either completely white or completely black, overlooking the nuances between these two extremes; much of this has to do with religion and the "proper education" for a good person.

Women must be virginally pure, almost like saints, they should resign themselves to bear their crosses, to embrace pain in search of glory in the afterlife as a prize for their sacrifices in this life. Otherwise, they will be considered evil, lost souls, impure, and sinful. Men should be formal and protective, always one step ahead women, apparently more free and secure, knowing that in this world they are still the most powerful.

If we review the social roles that women and men are supposed to play in marriage, parenthood, social and professional life, we can see that even today many women are chained down by their assumed obligations, for example, the many house chores that are not considered real work because they do not generate income. In many cases we can still experience the fact that women have to be obedient and submissive to their fathers or husbands as if they were incapable of being independent or competent, as if they were less suited than men by nature.