Public domain photograph of family portrait, mother and child.
How do emerging technologies change how we make images, who gets represented in them, and how we see ourselves as a society? Before digital cameras and smartphones, early photography had its unique challenges. The exhibition Hidden Mothers examines a fascinating practice from the nineteenth century when taking a child's portrait meant hiding mom in plain sight. Because early cameras needed subjects to stay completely still—sometimes for several minutes—mothers would hold their children steady while being covered with dark cloth or positioned behind furniture. The result? Eerie ghost-like figures of hidden mothers appear alongside their perfectly posed children in family portraits.
These portraits tell two contrasting stories. On the surface, they capture treasured images of children during a time when society was just beginning to view childhood as special—the same period when people started fighting against child labor. But looking deeper, they reveal something unintended: mothers' essential but often invisible work. Though these women were supposed to disappear from the pictures, hints of their presence remain as dark draped shapes, partial figures, or faint outlines at the edges.
These photographs capture this contradiction: even as early modern society tried to hide mothers' daily labor, these images accidentally preserved evidence of their vital role. The effort to erase these women from the photos created a lasting record of their presence and work.
Curated by Adam Kleinman and Joe Rowley.
Hidden Mothers is one of three rotating mini-exhibitions complementing Liv Bugge's solo show Umbilical Fire. All four exhibitions are created by and presented at Kunsthall Trondheim in the context of the Hannah Ryggen Triennale 2025. The 2025 edition of the Triennale collectively explores the theme of "mater" (Latin for mother and root of words like "matter" and "material") across Trondheim art institutions, connecting concepts of motherhood and custody to the production of cultural heritage and materiality itself. Initiated by Nordenfjeldske Kunstindustrimuseum, the collaborative Triennale program includes dedicated presentations at Dropsfabrikken, Kjøpmannsgata Ung Kunst (K-U-K), Trondheim kunstmuseum, Trøndelag senter for samtidskunst, and Ørland/Bjugn Kunstforening as well as at Kunsthall Trondheim.