Trinitas Terrestris
anna te drieën 1
Trinitas Terrestris is commonly a representation from the Christian iconography of Jozef, Virgin Mary and baby Jesus Christ. There was, however, a time when this concept (also) referred to another threesome: Mary, her child and the grandmother of Jesus, Saint Anne.
I especially admire the painting by Leonardo da Vinci on this subject. When I saw it I realized how the three successive generations are of great importance in a person's life. As a child you are greatly influenced by parents and grandparents. But the other way around is also true: having children and grandchildren is very decisive.
Motherhood has completely changed my identity. It also reconnected me to my mother. Now that I've reached the age of a grandmother, I see more and more how intensively our lives are intertwined.
With my photo collages I want to show that these relationships are accompanied by a lot of love. Yet there is nothing sweet about them. I use pastel colors, often associated with parenting, to contrast the raw, physical and sometimes painful reality of kinship.
anna te
drieën 2
“When I stopped seeing my mother with the eyes of a child, I saw the woman who helped me give birth to myself.”
​
- Nancy Friday