Birth Rites Collection

Hermione Wiltshire, 2008, Digital Print Installation, variable dimensions

Hermione Wiltshire shadowed doula and Yoga Birth teacher, Kathleen Beegan, in her home practice in Streatham, London. The observations of these classes produced a series of photographs arrived at through collaboration between both practitioners. Wiltshire’s interest in Yoga, in particular teaching the student to take their attention inside the body is celebrated in Kathleen’s classes. Kathleen teaches pregnant women to identify various internal areas and sensations in preparation for labour. Wiltshire was inspired to produce photographs of Kathleen’s pregnant students in positions she teaches in her classes. In particular she is trying to articulate the subtle physical sensations that take place inside their bodies as Kathleen herself was teaching them. Hermione is interested in communicating a stillness and concentration organised by the students’ breathing. Also to show the “powerful graphic...and energetic relationship between ...the mouth and the perineum”.