Rarely are a mother’s hands the focal point of any photograph, story, or memory. They perform a “behind the scenes” role in life—like an accompanist whose many hours of solitary work at the piano serve to make the singer shine. On any given day, a mother's hands perform countless unremarked movements. As a mother of four young children, I am often unaware of these repetitive, split-second motions, even as I know my hands play a vital role in the functioning of my family. I set out a few years ago to capture this in a portrait of my own mother's hands, but I found that their stillness--though beautiful--belied the familiar work of washing dishes, folding laundry, and preparing meals.

In this series, I photographed the hands of a dozen mothers in motion in the multi-frame style of Eadward Muybridge, as bright shapes emerging from the dark, their daily domestic motions revealed for the first time on camera.

-- 2017