Caroline Walker: Mothering at The Hepworth
Caroline Walker’s work offers a quiet yet powerful observation of women’s lives. Her paintings centre on domestic and care work — the kinds of labour that are often invisible, unpaid, or overlooked — revealing them with tenderness and respect.
Mothering, at The Hepworth Wakefield, brings together five years of Walker’s work that focuses on themes of motherhood and early-years care.
Birth Reflections (2021), made after time spent at UCL Hospital’s maternity wing, focuses on the women working within the NHS maternity services.
Lisa (2021), is an intimate series documenting the daily life of Walker’s sister-in-law as she navigates early motherhood, highlighting the often unseen, unpaid labour of childcare.
Nurture (2023–ongoing), is a recent series exploring early years care, including an outdoor nursery called Little Bugs, where staff described part of their role as “mothering” the children — a phrase that ultimately became the title of the exhibition. This shift in language highlights that “mothering” extends beyond biology, encompassing emotional, social, and economic forms of care work.
Maternity 7, 10, 13, 12, 6, 8, 9, and 5 - 2021 - ink on paper
Alongside major oil paintings, the exhibition features a series of eight ink works that, in their stripped-back monochrome, highlight the subtle textures, gestures, and everyday details within each scene. Devoid of colour, these paintings draw the eye to composition and mark-making, offering a different kind of intimacy, that’s more akin to black and white photography.
What’s striking about Mothering is the balance it holds: the beauty and dignity of care work, but also its relentlessness. These paintings resist both romanticisation and critique, instead offering honest reflections on what it means to care for others — and how that care shapes the rhythms of daily life.
Caroline Walker: Mothering is on display at The Hepworth, Wakefield until 26th October 2025. The exhibition will travel to Pallant House Gallery, Chichester from 22nd November 25 to 10th May 2026.