Jessie Edwards-Thomas
Born: Bangor, North Wales
Lives: Bristol, England
Mothers & Machines, 2024
Photography archive & AI
Jessie Edwards-Thomas is a visual artist and Senior Lecturer in Photography at the University of the West of England. Her practice explores the individual's relationship to society, with recurring themes of belonging, care, alienation, and power. In recent years, Jessie has focused on interrogating the role of motherhood within capitalist systems. In 2024, she was commissioned by Ffotogallery, Cardiff, to develop this research, culminating in a solo exhibition at Chapel Cemetery. In Autumn 2025, she will begin a funded PhD to further investigate this area of her practice. Her work is deeply rooted in community engagement.
Mothers & Machines draws upon the Industrial Revolution to question how our lives might look as we enter a new technological era. We are living through rapid industrial and technological advancement. This work is part of a broader project exploring motherhood in 21st-century Britain. I’m interested in how bodies fit, mould, and squeeze within the industrial systems and social structures we’ve built. Where is the space for love and care in worlds obsessed with efficiency, straight lines, and measurable outcomes? Where shall we put the baby?