Emili

Featuring Clàudia Grosche Words by Nastasia Khmelnitski

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Emili is a personal story that portrays the stages of pregnancy and takes the viewer through an intimate journey. Starting as a diary, without an intention to be shared, Emily became a photographic project in which the individual experience becomes available to the public and, as such, enters a necessary conversation about the female body, the change that occurs in the transition of becoming a mother, and impact sharing knowledge has on society.

As Clàudia puts it, “motherhood has to be something that our society puts in the center, and when it comes to speaking about this experience, we have to do it loud and open without taboos or fear.” The project is filmed mostly in black and white and is narrated in a docu-style, focusing on the change, the body, and the mental state.

Clàudia Grosche is a photographer and visual artist working in Barcelona and Priorat, Spain. Clàudia gained her BA from the University of Barcelona in Media and Cultural Industries and studied Foundation in Photography at the London College of Communication (UAL). In this interview, I speak with Clàudia about her experience of pregnancy, giving birth, and her decision to document the process into a beautiful and inspiring diary, later converting it to the project, Emili. We discuss the severe need to have more women speak openly about pregnancy, motherhood, and the tremendous effect this change in a woman’s life has on her career and the following choices. Clàudia presents to us her new project, outside the realm of photography, the creative and strategy studio based in Priorat, she’s currently working on.

‘I thought I would not share my birth story because I would embarrass myself. After giving birth, I thought that if all women did like me, these stories would not exist, and what a pity because they were a tool to inform me, learn, remove fears, and empower me.’

Emili

Emili is a story about pregnancy and giving birth to your daughter. It’s an intimate story that provides a detailed picture of the emotional background, the physical hardships, and the changes the body goes through. What was it like for you to decide to share this personal story widely in the form of images and text? 

My work focuses a lot on documenting the intimate moments of my day-to-day life. It’s a way to save memories, record how I feel, and look them up in the future. Being pregnant with my first son was an experience I needed to document in images to have them forever. I think motherhood has to be something that our society puts in the center, and when it comes to speaking about this experience, we have to do it loud and open without taboos or fear. It's an experience that definitely shakes a woman. 

Do you think women share birth stories enough? 

I think women didn’t use to share birth experiences enough, but right now, I see a change in that. Although, I think we are still a bit far from being really open. Of course, women talk in a private environment about labour, nursing, or concerns about motherhood. But we still have some work to do regarding the public space, such as sharing more. 

When I was pregnant, I loved reading birth stories. But although I was documenting my pregnancy through images, I thought I would not share my birth story because I would embarrass myself. After giving birth, I thought that if all women did like me, these stories would not exist, and what a pity because they were a tool to inform me, learn, remove fears, and empower me. And that’s why I shared my birth story in my hospital blog and decided to share these images with you. 

‘I choose the projects I want to do really carefully because it involves so many things. The main topics I want to explore are intimacy, family bonding, identity, and the passage of time.’

The Series

At what point did you realize it’s not going to be a diary but rather a series, which means providing it a whole new perspective and logic in the way of narrating the story?  

I think it came after. When I was looking at all the pictures, I realized that it wasn’t only a diary, but a story. I shared it with you, but it’s an ongoing project, and I still don’t know how it will evolve. 

‘I choose the projects I want to do really carefully because it involves so many things. The main topics I want to explore are intimacy, family bonding, identity, and the passage of time.’

Motherhood and Career

How does being a new mom affect your practice, working on new projects? What are the topics you’d like to explore and work on after this experience? 

Being a new mom has affected my practice from a time perspective. I don’t have that much time now. So I say 'no' to a lot of things because the logistics are different. I also moved from Barcelona, where most of the photography jobs are. So right now, I choose the projects I want to do really carefully because it involves so many things. The main topics I want to explore are intimacy, family bonding, identity, and the passage of time.

The Body

The topic of women’s bodies is one of the main themes you explore, from self-portraits to portraits of young women. I’d like to speak with you about the duality of censorship on Instagram, allowing to post images of breastfeeding women showing the nipple while censoring the same nipple in other cases. What is your take on that?  

I think it’s sad that art is censored this way. And that makes me really upset. I don’t know why society is so scared of female nipples. I posted my boyfriend without a T-shirt so many times and nothing, but then I have to pixelate my nipples when I post self-portraits. It’s really annoying.

A Sneak Peek 

What are you currently working on, or what will you focus on in your next project? 

I’m working on commissions and personal projects. Some projects are in Barcelona, and some in my village, where I live. Some are inside me, wherever I’m at. Right now, I’m working a lot on the motherhood subject because it's moving me. And I think the next projects will go in that direction. 

The rural world is very present in my work as well. Moving out of the city and living in a rural environment has affected my work. I still do and enjoy commissions for brands, but the sector here is different, so the projects are different. And the vision is different too. When you are surrounded by nature, you like to capture the people who live there and their activities. Besides photography, I studied and worked some years in the advertising and communication sector, so I just created a creative and strategy studio based in Priorat (the rural region where I live) that specializes in wine, gastronomy, and the agri-food sector.