The Let Down Reflex curators Amber Berson and Juliana Driever articulate, Kerri-Lynn Reeves’ artistic practice “straddles between her role as an artist and as a mother, often reflecting on her experience with balancing the two. Her 2017 installation, The Mother, features an outstretched macramé hammock forming a gently cradled space for social interaction and relaxation. Designed for three people, the hammock becomes a metaphor for the body of the mother, the family unit, and the community (as a whole and as separate parts.) It proposes the mother’s body as a social site in which the physicality of the space encapsulates a biological space and a social definition.”

Designed to be installed in public space on the UTM campus and available for community use, the work was instead shown in the e|gallery during The Let Down Reflex, along with photos of its intended installation site and a footstool engraved with instructions:

“Please use The Mother

The Mother is strong and flexible.

The Mother is here to cradle you

while you rest, relax, and grow.

But remember, The Mother has limits.
The Mother can only hold and bear so much.
The mother works best when well balanced.”