Motherhood is more than a full time job. The intense timed labor of nurturing-- of the cause and effect punch-clock-like repetition of feed, exhaust, replenish, sleep, repeat (every three hours)-- is part of the unpaid requirements for mothering. Those unwilling to complete these necessary actions need not apply. The Fourth Trimester series documents Knox’s time on the job by stamping each time that breastfeeding occurred on any given day. Five prints display the more or less repetitive days of feeding, with some punch cards becoming so layered with stamps that time truly blurs together. The magnitude of this labor is exemplified in a sprawling work extending from ceiling to floor, wherein time-stamped shop-rags, or “nursing pads,” flow from a delicately hung pumping bra. The times read onerous-- 3:33 AM. 7:16 AM. 11:19 AM.-- and so on continually. Knox uses axle grease and shop rags specifically in these works to create a conversation between blue collar labor and the labor of motherhood. In addition to lamenting these repetitious actions, these works also allude to the ways in which a mother’s sexual identity and bodily functions are altered by this experience, much like a well used piece of machinery. 

The tension between object and objectivity is further present in the Ritual photo series. The eight photos wrapping from corner to wall display performative stills in which Knox interacts with various food-related substances, in an exploration connecting motherhood to sexuality. Seeking to responsively replenish her own nutrients, Knox contemplates the purpose of her own body as a sexual being and one as a food source. The Ritual series aims to compound objectivity while questioning functions of the female body by incorporating nourishing substances (salt, calcium, iron, fat, sugar, protein) with sexually overt actions. The self-objectification of one’s body exists in this work so as to re-examine its role, ultimately challenging the societal perceptions of mothering and parenthood.