Savage Mother
Aimee Fresia (Lee’s Summit, MO)
Acrylic Collage on Panel, 24” H x 24” W x 1.5” D
Artwork:
I had my first child my senior year at the Kansas City Art Institute, and raised her as a single mother until meeting my husband. She is now an adult, and the battles I need to fight for her in 2026 are ones I never imagined in the 90s when she was born. Abortion is healthcare. The lives of women matter, whether or not they have children. Equal pay for equal work. These are battles our grandmothers fought, and seemed to be guarantees. Trans women deserve safety, and all women should be safe from gun violence. I cannot believe these are issues that my daughters and granddaughter now have to face.
Artist Statement:
I often feel overwhelmed with the degree of connectedness that exists in our modern world, and don’t understand the reasoning of the people in power. As a public-school educator, I sometimes feel unsafe at my job due to the overtraining to prepare us for active shooters. Thoughts and prayers do not eliminate bullets. School shootings rarely make national news anymore. As a mother, I feel a savage and primal need to protect my children, but it feels more and more like I don’t know where the danger lies, and just when I think something is a guarantee (like abortion being health care) it’s unexpectedly snatched away. I always thought when I got to “a certain age” I’d understand the world and people more. I’ve found the opposite to be true.