Gemma Anderson-Tempini

‘Growing Una and Cosmo’ depicts the breastfeeding pattern of baby twins in the first full month of their life (2020). It is composed of a series of twin circles on either side of a logarithmic spiral (also known as a growth spiral). The image was drawn from information about breastfeeding collected by Gemma Anderson-Tempini (the mother and the artist), in a series of notebooks since the babies’ birth until they turned two years old, documenting the timing and duration of every feed during each 24 hour window. Although she had a sense of the ‘pattern’ of the breastfeeding, Gemma wanted to ‘see’ the pattern. The resulting image is a visual abstract representation of breastfeeding. Making the image involved patient care and attention, not so different to the kind required in mothering.