This work, whose title is taken from the name of the goat that nursed the baby Zeus in Greek mythology, was shot in the intimacy of my studio. It depicts mothers with different personalities and body types nursing their children. It is a tribute to the universal act of breastfeeding, with references to Italian Renaissance and Dutch painting, as well as the sensuality found in religious paintings from the Middle Ages, which in their suggestive poses and nudity were closer to secular art.
By revisiting the icon of the nursing Virgin, a theme so recurrent in 15th to 17th century painting that entered our collective unconscious, I attempt to question the process of representation and incarnation of an archetypal image through real mothers. I asked each one to ‘step outside of herself’ while fully experiencing this special moment with her child.
Georges Pacheco: Amalthée
In Part Les Photographiques 2013
From February 15th to March 31st, 2013
La Collégiale St Pierre la Cour
72000 Le Mans
USA
