The Mothers in Lockdown portraits were taken as part of a research project by the Huddersfield Centre for Research in Education and Society at the University of Huddersfield.
The 12 portraits in this exhibition were taken by photographer Fran Monks during lockdown in May/June 2020. She used remote photography techniques producing some unique effects. There are 2 portraits of each woman, one with her children and one alone.
The Portraits
Click an image to view the portraits
Featured
The Research
The images were commissioned as part of a research project lead by Dr James Reid at the University of Huddersfield exploring the experience of working mothers at home during the pandemic. He found that the women’s lives were disproportionately affected by the lockdown:
“Each of the mothers had worked to develop a career or business in her own terms however lockdown quickly ended or constrained this independence.
In particular, while some mothers experienced and negotiated with their partners an equal share of effort in the home, the majority of mothers in the study did more education and emotional work with the children during lockdown. Consequently, where work was shared the type of work was not.”
The report was presented to the Women and Equalities Select Committee as they gathered research to implement emergency legislation during the pandemic.
Hear more from Fran Monks
Hear more from Dr James Reid
Do you have a lockdown story to share?
You Can share your story of caring for children whilst working at home with us
@thackraymuseum #MothersinLockdown
