Held in Love: A Reflection on Motherhood Through Art

What does it mean to mother?

To mother is to care. To nurture. To pour from the deepest parts of yourself even when you’re not sure there’s anything left. It is waking up to the weight of responsibility and still choosing love, again and again.

Motherhood is not a fixed identity. It’s a living, breathing act expressed by those who choose to show up with compassion, strength, and sacrifice. It's in the hands that braid hair before school. In the arms that rock a child to sleep. In the quiet courage of being a safe place in a world that often feels anything but, it isn’t always soft. Sometimes it’s gritty and hard, shaped by long days, sleepless nights, and silent hopes. And for many, it’s a solitary journey, one carried alone, but never without love.

This is the soul of Siyambonga Magwentshu’s work. In each brushstroke, there’s a memory. A school lunch packed with love. A silent prayer whispered in the dark. A woman holding a world together with nothing but her will and her heart. Raised by a single mother, Siyambonga paints from a place of truth. His upcoming solo exhibition isn’t just about motherhood, it’s a love letter to it. Not the idealized version we see in movies, but the real, gritty, beautiful story of care without condition.

Dice Roller 4 by Siyambonga Magwentshu

In a world that often defines motherhood narrowly, this body of work reminds us: to mother is to nurture. To guide. To love deeply, selflessly, and sometimes alone. Whether you're a parent, a caregiver, or someone who has simply been loved deeply by another, this exhibition invites you to reflect, to remember, and to recognize the strength in those who care.

Because being held, after all, is one of life’s most powerful gifts.

Join us this May, in honoring the invisible threads that bind us. Let the art move you and reflect on the ways we’re all shaped by the hands that raised us.