KATIE GOODWIN

WRITING

This is a portrait of myself carrying my infant son whilst shooting my last major artist film, The Morrow, on the Holderness Coast, the fastest eroding coastline in Europe. It’s a haunting place in its rough beauty. Houses and roads abruptly crumble over cliff edges. WW2 pillboxes lie half buried in the sand. The film was meant to be an ode to settlements lost to sea, but, shot in 2016 in the aftermath of the EU referendum, it morphed into the precariousness of our place in the world. 

The anxiety that comes with being a parent feels more pointed in these uncertain times. This drawing captures the vulnerability and loneliness I felt as a new mum and, although not a single parent yet, was soon to be. 

I stopped making videos longer than one minute after the mammoth effort to meet the Autumn 2017 exhibition deadline for The Morrow. So I turned to drawings and prints, a single image became enough. As a mother it was a challenge to keep creating and I lost my flexible work and studio thanks to Covid, forcing me into full-time work. My child is now seven and with more time to play with, I rediscovered my love for painting last year.  

Now, when I look at this drawing I see a less broken mum and baby walking into the unknown future. Things are more hopeful now. His dad does way more now we’re separated and most importantly, my child is happy.  

Katie Goodwin 

This was published in the first Zine for The Single Parents Project in 2023