Isolation at home is something we all had to experience last year. It was unavoided. This story is something more special:
The new photobook by journalist, author, and photographer Rabea Edel is her most personal publication yet, and is set to be released this summer. “A Second Beating Heart” tells the emotional story of a woman not leaving home after giving birth to her child. For almost three years, house is both shelter and cocoon.
Through poetic and carefully selected pictures, viewers empathize with the light and dark sides of new motherhood. Dealing with the topic of post-partum depression is often neglected in art and only more recently has been a topic in society. And with new lockdown implemented, isolation from friends, family, and normalcy takes on whole new complexities. Not every new mother is blissfully happy in their new role, can accept the changes of her body so immediately, or cope with the new lifestyle that shifts overnight.
“The birth of a child is also the birth of a mother. During pregnancy your body has a second beating heart.
When this second heart suddenly beats outside the body, everything changes."
The carefully illustrated book strips bare these fears through self portraits, still lifes, and an emotional essay. The publication date is planned for this summer. Click here for the crowdfunding page.
Photos courtesy of Rabea Edel
