Learning to Speak Bear

Learning To Speak Bear is a book of photographs exploring the visual cues and relentless interruptions of motherhood while showing the grit that happens in caring for young children. It seeks to take the viewer through the reality that is everyday life and shed light on the challenges primary caregivers face. Having children is a biological process, becoming a mother is not. Becoming a mother means confronting buried trauma while straddling the first, second and third shifts, juggling physical and emotional needs with financial obligations and often lamenting careers due to high childcare costs and poor support. These photographs are an invitation to explore the physical work of the second shift so you can understand the mental load of the third shift. This is motherhood.

Kristine Nyborg tells stories through photographs. Her work explores the links between daily life, culture and mental health. For the past eight years she has focused on maternal mental health with the project Learning To Speak Bear. This work is set to be published in 2022 by Yoffy Press. Nyborg’s work has been published in LIFE, NYTimes, Bild Am Sontag and all major Norwegian publications. She is a Norwegian photographer living in Canada.