MATRESCENCE: Between Rhythms and Awakenings

Rooted in the rhythms of gestation, this work was born from the quiet unfolding of motherhood. As my body began to create life, I felt the desire to document what I was experiencing—not just the physical and emotional transformations of pregnancy, but the psychological, ecological, and spiritual unraveling that accompanied it. I began listening closely to the rhythms of my body, the echoes of my own upbringing, and a long-held internal conflict: how can I bring a child into a world facing an ecological crisis?

Through photography, I gave form to the invisible—capturing not only my own matrescence, but also the broader forces shaping it. This transformation invited me to slow down and move at the pace of nature, resisting patriarchal models of productivity and separation. I submerged myself in the field of  maternal ecopsychology and came to see motherhood as a cyclical, non-linear stage of a woman’s development—one that mirrors ecological processes of growth, loss, and regeneration. Gestation, birth, and caregiving require adaptation and resilience, echoing patterns in the natural world. Motherhood became a way of re-rooting in life’s interdependence and complexity.

This work contributes to a broader artistic and ecological dialogue: one that recognizes maternal experience as a threshold toward collective healing. Through portraits, landscapes, and intimate dialogues with other women, I explore ecological identity—our sense of connection with the natural world and how it informs our values, choices, and relationships. By holding multiple truths—joy and grief, rupture and repair—we move beyond human-centered thinking toward earth-centered ways of being. This work does not sentimentalize motherhood; it frames it as a potent, often overlooked force for ecological consciousness and cultural transformation.

Photography by Ana María Cañas

Voice: Ana María Cañas, Ana Eugenia Vélez, Rafaela Mae, Carolina Daza, Juliana Díaz, Carolina Rios.

Music: Art of Life by Lesfm