Unconditional: Exploring a Mother’s Love in Two Inadequate Representational Systems

The loss of a child is unarguably devastating. But what happens when a mother loses her child to the prison system? Unconditional is a multimedia project that explores the experiences of women whose children are in prison. While the incarceration of a loved one is devastating for all members of a family, mothers in particular bear the weight of responsibility and blame for their child’s behaviour. This project seeks to understand the complicated feelings of grief, shame, and helplessness that mothers go through when their child is arrested. Unconditional demonstrates the incredible bond between mother and child that remains unshaken, even in the most extreme of circumstances.