Aimee Koran’s practice is centered around the idea of invisible labor, specific to mothers, pregnancy, and birth. Her multidisciplinary practice manipulates and elevates the everyday objects and materials of motherhood to help us see them anew. Breast pumps are chrome-plated in bright colors, fertility sticks come together to create mesmerizing patterns, stuffed animals are torn apart and rebuilt inside out, and breast milk is spilled and magnified to create celestial, otherworldly landscapes.
For her time at the Workshop, Aimee knew she wanted to work with her Milkscapes series, which she has described as a visual reference to outer space. Originally created after an accidental spill of her own breastmilk, she imagined transforming its imagery into a space suit, likening the experience of approaching motherhood to the mission of an astronaut traveling to new, unknown territory.
In working with the FWM Studio team, Koran’s design evolved into a practical boiler suit with compartments for essentials like baby wipes, flaps and cinches for breastfeeding access, and more. Recognizing motherhood as a form of unprotected labor and essential to the care economy, the artist also created a series of patches that play on labor union and NASA patches—the former inspired by one belonging to her grandmother. MSS (an acronym for Mama Space Suit) positions the work of motherhood as vital, brave, and worthy of our reverence.
