Milkscape Banners Dedication

In partnership with Mural Arts and Maternity Care Coalition, Philadelphia artist Aimee Gilmore is thrilled to present a series of flags that will line the exterior of the Maternity Care Coalition’s Early Head Start building in South Philadelphia. The flags are part of Aimee’s ongoing series “Milkscapes,” which she started in 2016 after the birth of her first child. Made by pouring a small amount of her breast milk onto a sheet of glass (the first instance of this stemming from an accidental spill after laborious pumping), these Milkscapes are created when the milk dries in abstract shapes highlighting invisible labor. By exposing the process of lactation, these Milkscapes illuminate one way in which the female body is called on to perform and to produce. These flags provide an opportunity to reflect on the human body’s power from a unique perspective, scale, and presentation. This is the first time Aimee’s Milkscapes will be presented as flags in this public installation, providing a timely and urgent starting point for conversations adjacent to mothering, including the necessity of the care economy, the right of choice, paid family leave, and parent-student rights.

FUNDERS: City of Philadelphia
PARTNERS: Maternity Care Coalition