Kelly’s aim was to communicate a mother’s psychological experience to the viewer – a subject matter previously unheard of in male-dominated Conceptual Art. Not only did she challenge representations of motherhood in art history, but she also deepened our contemporary understanding of a mother’s role and inner life. But when exhibited at London’s Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) in 1976, the Post-Partum Document was met with some controversy; a few critics were outraged at the inclusion of stained nappy liners inside a pristine, white-walled gallery. Yet today it is embraced as a landmark
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