Making Work Visible

My acrylic painting was inspired by a video of Nev Schulman and his pregnant fiancé, Laura Perlongo about paid parental leave. Nev states in the video “the United States is the only industrialized country that doesn’t offer paid maternity leave.“ According to Google, there are only three states in the United States that provide paid maternity leave: California, New Jersey and Rhode Island.

I sketched by hand and transferred to a canvas, a painting of a new born in a crib seen through an iPhone camera. The woman’s hand (right) is taking the photo and is home with the child, while the man’s hand (left) is viewing the photo of his new born while at work. My painting depicts the man working to bring home a paycheck while the woman is home taking care of her child and recuperating after giving birth while receiving no pay. Nev also states, “Globally, moms get an average of 106 days of paid leave for a new baby, while dads only get an average of seven“, offering women more time with their newborns. I believe my painting speaks to the Labor Arts spirit because hard working men and women aren’t offered paid leave in order to provide a service to their newborns.

Watch the video of Nev and Laura