Milkscapes

In partnership with Mural Arts and Maternity Care Coalition, Philadelphia artist Aimee Gilmore presented a series of flags that lined the exterior of the Maternity Care Coalition’s Early Head Start building in South Philadelphia. The flags are part of Aimee’s ongoing series Milkscapes, which she started in 2016 after the birth of her first child. Made by pouring a small amount of her breast milk onto a sheet of glass (the first instance of this stemming from an accidental spill after laborious pumping), these Milkscapes are created when the milk dries in abstract shapes highlighting invisible labor. By exposing the process of lactation, these Milkscapes illuminate one way in which the female body is called on to perform and to produce. These flags provide an opportunity to reflect on the human body’s power from a unique perspective, scale, and presentation. This was the first time Aimee’s Milkscapes were presented as flags in this public installation, providing a timely and urgent starting point for conversations adjacent to mothering, including the necessity of the care economy, the right of choice, paid family leave, and parent-student rights.

Location Note: This temporary project will be on view at this location through at least August 2023.