‘Catherine and Raiye’ from the series This is Also Motherhood by Carolyn Mendelsohn FRPS
When photographer Carolyn Mendelsohn FRPS was asked to explore pregnancy, motherhood and maternal mental health in a new series, she found herself facing her own past.
The commission from the charity Maternal Mental Health Alliance (MMHA) led to This Is Also Motherhood, using portraiture, still life and recorded testimony to tell the stories of 10 mothers.
Now, the work is being exhibited at the photography centre Photofusion in London and published as a book.
“Years ago, when my first child was born, my life unravelled,” explains Mendelsohn, who functioned by focusing on her baby and burying the trauma she experienced as a young mother.
Perinatal mental health conditions affect one in four women and birthing people, according to MMHA. One of those affected, Natalie Trasker, collaborated with Mendelsohn on This is Also Motherhood, sharing her experience of living with perinatal OCD and intrusive thoughts.
Here, Mendelsohn explains how her own experience helped her create This Is Also Motherhood – and shares her work with Trasker.
‘Natalie Trasker, 2025’ from the series This is Also Motherhood by Carolyn Mendelsohn FRPS
Why was it important for you to create This is Also Motherhood?
I was approached by MMHA to create a new body of work and a photographic exhibition that would give space to the stories of mothers whose experiences are rarely spoken about. The intention was to shine a light on the often-overlooked realities of motherhood and mental health.
My artistic work has always focused on placing people at the centre of telling their own stories, so the project felt like a natural fit. What MMHA didn’t initially know was that my own experience sits very close to this work. Taking on the commission meant I had to return to a part of my life I had hidden away.
This commission brought my lived experience back to the surface. To approach the work with integrity I needed to meet the women, not as an observer, but as someone who understood. Not for it to be about my own story, but to be open enough that we could collaborate as equals. It really shaped how I approached making the work, and shaped the collaboration.
Carolyn Mendelsohn FRPS with her son Oscar in 2000
Please tell us about your experience of mental health issues.
Years ago, when my first child was born, my life unravelled. I found myself homeless and without support, navigating early motherhood in a place of shock, fear, isolation and shame. I did what I needed to survive. I focused on being functional and protecting my baby. But I never truly processed the trauma. I never made work about it. I just kept going.
The portraits, still lives and installation have been made with 10 women to tell stories of mental health and perinatal challenges. These stories are honest and sometimes difficult, but the intention is to bring them into the light. To remove shame. To create space for conversation. To show that none of us are alone in these experiences.
I feel deeply honoured to have worked with these extraordinary women. Their openness and trust have shaped this exhibition. And while this is not my story, it is interwoven with my life. Creating this work allowed me to reflect, acknowledge and finally meet my younger self with compassion.
More than anything, I hope this exhibition helps others feel seen, supported and heard. That it opens doors for conversation. And that it reminds people that there is strength in vulnerability. and community in sharing our truths.
‘Letter by Natalie Trasker, 2025’ from the series This is Also Motherhood by Carolyn Mendelsohn FRPS
What were the challenges of creating This is Also Motherhood?
There were challenges, but they were meaningful ones. At first, I spent a lot of time exploring how to honour each woman’s story in a way that felt respectful and truthful. I felt the weight of responsibility quite deeply. But gradually I realised it didn’t need to be complicated. What mattered most was creating space. Allowing each person to be fully themselves. Working slowly, collaboratively and with trust at the centre.
When it came time to actually make the work, I travelled around the UK in my battered vehicle – from Scotland to the south coast of England – with my lights, backdrops, camera and audio equipment. I worked in people’s homes, transforming living rooms and bedrooms into temporary studio spaces.
Each woman chose what they wanted to wear. There was no hair or makeup, no staging of identity. The portrait session became a way for us to get to know one another, to build a sense of safety and presence. After that came the still life image. I would set up a small studio using natural light, working closely with each person to choose where to place the objects that held meaning. We shaped these images together, quietly, thoughtfully.
Then we talked. Really talked. I recorded long interviews with each of the women. These conversations were often emotional but I was always struck by the honesty, courage and openness I was met with.
The final exhibition is multilayered and includes portraits, still life images, audio interviews accessed through QR codes and an installation element. I also invited each woman to handwrite their story as a letter or poem or account. These texts are now printed onto muslin and hung from a line in the gallery, near the portraits and still lives.
This material, the fabric we associate with babyhood and parenting, and the handwritten words all carry their own quiet symbolism. If some of the text blurs or becomes unreadable in the process, that for me speaks to memory, loss, resilience and the parts of ourselves we learn to hold gently. The muslin is imbued with the story and the experience and is a strong visual metaphor.
‘Natalie Trasker, teddy, 2025’ from the series This is Also Motherhood by Carolyn Mendelsohn FRPS
How has photography helped you or those you photographed for this series?
These portraits matter because they create space for truth. They show that motherhood isn’t one fixed experience. It is layered, personal and often far from straightforward.
By bringing these stories forward, openly and without judgment, we make it possible for others to feel less alone. And that in itself can be life changing.
For me, I was able to really examine my own traumatic experience of early motherhood, and by creating this work it felt like turning a dark secret time into something that was productive and healing. The metaphorical box I placed my memories of this time in was fully opened up, and now does not contain the power, pain and secrecy it did.
Working with these extraordinary women has shown me just how powerful it can be to make this work collaboratively. Not just photographing someone, but making and co-creating with them. The process itself has been meaningful for the women involved, and the response from those who have seen the work already has been incredibly strong.
People sometimes recognise themselves in the stories or see someone they love in them. There is relief in that recognition, but also there is a raised awareness that enables people to gain insight into the experience of others.
It feels vital that we begin to look at the full reality of motherhood. Yes, there is joy, but there is also difficulty, complexity and pain. Culturally, we are still encouraged to believe that motherhood will come naturally, that we will simply cope, that everyone has a support network, that everything should feel instinctive and fulfilling. And when our experiences don’t match that idealised version of parenthood, many of us feel unable to speak. Shame creeps in. Silence takes over. And that silence can deepen the struggle.
For me, the women and MMHA, the hope is this work opens up and creates space for the conversation. That it allows people to ask for help earlier and to receive support without fear or shame, and yes, we hope it saves lives. Because being able to speak, to be heard, and to know that recovery is possible can make all the difference.
This Is Also Motherhood is at Photofusion, London until 1 August
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