POST-PARTUM DOCUMENT, 1973-79
Post-Partum Document is a six-year exploration of the mother-child relationship. When it was first shown at the ICA in London in 1976, the work provoked tabloid outrage because Documentation I incorporated stained nappy liners. Each of the six-part series concentrates on a formative moment in her son’s mastery of language and her own sense of loss, moving between the voices of the mother, child and analytic observer. Informed by feminism and psychoanalysis, the work has had a profound influence on the development and critique of conceptual art.
Post-Partum Document, 1973-79
Installation in six parts
Installation View, Generali Foundation, Vienna, 1998
Post-Partum Document: Introduction, 1973
Perpsex units, white card, wool vests, pencil, ink
4 units, 20 x 25.5 cm each
Collection, Hammer Museum, Los Angeles
Detail
Perpsex units, white card, wool vests, pencil, ink
1 of 4 units, 20 x 25.5 cm each
Post-Partum Document: Documentation I
Analysed Fecal Stains and Feeding Charts, 1974
Installation View, Generali Foundation
Perpsex units, white card, diaper linings, plastic sheeting, paper,ink
31 units, 28 x 35.5 cm each,
Collection, Art Gallery of Ontario
Detail
Perpsex units, white card, diaper linings, plastic sheeting, paper,ink
31 units, 28 x 35.5 cm each
Post-Partum Document: Documentation II
Analysed Utterances and Related Speech Events, 1975
Installation View, Generali Foundation
Perpsex units, white card, wood, paper, ink, rubber
26 units, 20 x 25.5 cm each
Collection, Art Gallery of Ontario
Detail
Perpsex unit, white card, wood, paper, ink, rubber
1 of the 26 units, 20 x 25.5 cm
Collection, Art Gallery of Ontario
Post-Partum Document: Documentation III
Analysed Markings and Diary-perspective Schema,1975
Installation View, Generali Foundation
Perpsex units, white card, sugar paper, crayon
13 units, 35.5 x 28 cm each
Collection, Tate Modern, London
Detail
Perpsex units, white card, sugar paper, crayon
1 of the 13 units, 35.5 x 28 cm each
Post-Partum Document: Documentation IV
Transitional Objects, Diary and Diagram,1976
Installation View, Generali Foundation
Perpsex units, white card, plaster, cotton fabric
8 units, 28 x 35.5 cm each
Collection, Zurich Museum
Detail
Perpsex units, white card, plaster, cotton fabric
1 of the 8 units, 28 x 35.5 cm
Post-Partum Document: Documentation V,
Classified Specimens, Proportional Diagrams,
Statistical Tables, Research and Index, 1977
Installation view, Generali Foundation, Vienna
Perspex units, white card, wood, paper, ink, mixed media
36 units, 13 x 18 cm each,
Collection, Australian National Gallery, Canberra
Detail
Installation View, Generali Foundation
Perpsex units, white card, wood, paper, ink, mixed media
36 units, 13 x 18 cm each
Collection, Australian National Gallery, Canberra
Post-Partum Document: Documentation VI
Pre-writing Alphabet, Exergue and Diary, 1978
Installation View, Generali Foundation
Perpsex units, white card, resin, slate
18 units, 20 x 25.5 cm each
Collection, Arts Council of Great Britain
Detail
Perpsex unit, white card, resin, slate
1 of the 18 units, 20 x 25.5 cm
Detail
Perpsex unit, white card, resin, slate
1 of the 18 units, 20 x 25.5 cm
Detail
Perpsex unit, white card, resin, slate
1 of the 18 units, 20 x 25.5 cm