How do women tell their own stories about their mental distress?
Fuel Presents: An Installation about Postnatal Mental Illness
The Last Taboo of Motherhood? is an installation illuminating an area of women’s health which has been historically overlooked: postnatal mental illness.
Brought together by Alison Neighbour’s captivating design, the piece contains three audio plays written by Courtney Conrad, Bryony Kimmings and Sara Shaarawi that break the pervasive culture of silence around maternal mental health.
The project draws on groundbreaking research led by Professor Hilary Marland, with Dr Kelly Couzens and Dr Fabiola Creed, and is informed by a variety of historical sources, including first hand testimonies from and by women in twentieth-century Britain. The Last Taboo of Motherhood? probes vital questions about women’s experiences.
The Last Taboo of Motherhood? will be available to stream as podcasts via Fuel Digital and will tour in Autumn 2023 as a physical installation in the following locations:
4th – 11th November 2023, Warwick Arts Centre
13th - 25th November 2023, Storyhouse, as part of Chester Literature Festival
13th - 28th January 2024, Glasgow Women’s Library
Content note: discusses postnatal mental illness, infanticide and death.
Recommended age guidance: 16+
Includes BSL and transcripted versions of audio.
Funded by the Wellcome Trust and Warwick University.
This event is part of the ESRC Festival of Social Science 2023 and was made possible thanks to funding from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), which is part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)
On Wednesday 8th November, a discussion about the creation of the work will be held at Warwick Arts Centre - find out more here.
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Writers: Courtney Conrad, Bryony Kimmings and Sara Shaarawi
Researchers: Professor Hilary Marland, Dr Kelly Couzens and Dr Fabiola Creed
Installation designer: Alison Neighbour
Sound Designer: Dinah Mullen
Audio director: Francesca Murray-Fuentes
Performers: Courtney Conrad, Bryony Kimmings, Alex Lowe, Jodie Mitchell, Victoria Moseley, Hiftu Quasem and Emily Stott
