Liviness Banda, one of the mothers Lewis met during her shoot in Malawi. Pic: Jenny Lewis

A Hackney photographer, whose photo projects have portrayed the lives of local Londoners for years, has been commissioned by Wateraid to capture the struggles of childbirth and the triumph of motherhood in Malawi.

Jenny Lewis, a photographer based in Hackney, talks to ELL in her studio. Pic: Alex Jackson

Stepping into Jenny Lewis’s unassuming Hackney studio, the walls are adorned with pictures of women. Their exhausted faces tell of the journey their bodies have just completed: all have become mothers less than 24 hours before the shot was taken as part of Lewis’s One Day Young project.

Lewis, 41, has photographed local mothers for several years, but earlier in 2015, she published a book that caught the attention of the international charity Wateraid. The charity’s latest project in Africa needed a new visual angle and her portraits of mothers and babies in the first hours of life depicted a humanizing moment that spoke to communities across the world.

Jennifer Sinoya holds her new born baby in Malawi. The shot was part of a Watered project to raise awareness of the problems of childbirth in Africa and to raise money for clean water for mothers and babies in need. Pic Jenny Lewis

Thus, the opportunity for a partnership was presented. Lewis recalled being approached for the project: “They just wanted me to shoot in the same way and capture their triumph in that first 24 hours. Shooting the women’s strength, rather than their vulnerability and not showing them as victims but showing them as women the same as us in that same moment.”

However, taking the photoshoot to an international level did not come without problems.

Judith Chibwe holds her newborn babies in Malawi. Their futures are uncertain, with lack of basic essentials including clean water. Pic: Jenny Lewis

Lewis was faced with language barriers, culture differences and a new country. “I was nervous that this time I was an outsider. That was my fear — that I would be an outsider. A white woman turning up with a lot of equipment in a car to a culture that I knew nothing about to a woman’s situation that I knew nothing about.”

Nonetheless, she found that the emotional rock bed of her work still held.

“The emotions are all the same even though the challenges that they’re facing are far, far greater and the risks to them are far bigger. ͞The series is a way of bringing awareness to the challenges of maternal health in a country where you have no running clean water and a health centre with no water.”

No matter the circumstances, the women were all proud of their achievement in Malawi. Pic: Jenny Lewis

Although One Day Young is now connecting people globally, the initial aim was to overcome local negativity surrounding childbirth. The art itself was born out of a moment of frustration following Lewis’s second birth. “I was kind of left with this feeling. Feeling quite angry and frustrated that no one had told me any positive or celebratory stories about birth.”

Rebecca holds her new baby in her Hackney home. Pic: Jenny Lewis

While Lewis set out to celebrate the miracle of childbirth she inadvertently addressed a number of social issues, and overcame barriers that prevented discussions of motherhood.

“Why is it difficult to celebrate something? Is it the UK? We don’t feel confident enough to talk about things that we’ve done well. Why can’t you try and use your positive experience to help other women? There just didn’t seem to be this platform and dialogue to help support other women.”

Mired and Finn shortly after giving birth in London. Pic: Jenny Lewis

The momentum for Lewis’s work has grown exponentially. Despite a slow start, which saw her flyer shops and takeaways for participants, she has had resounding success online, with positive feedback from countries including Israel, China and Russia.

Lewis believes that in offering an alternative to media images, she is redrawing boundaries and making space for invisible mothers in the media. “It was overwhelming, the emotions and the endorphins or the pride so there was no self consciousness. They have achieved. What’s to hide?”

Lewis’s original series of photos captures the day women become mothers across Hackney. Pic: Jenny Lewis

Now Lewis’s work has become an international vehicle to communicate that women all share this same power no matter their circumstances.

“Maybe this project can be used as a tool in other cultures and other countries, and it’s amazing that this small little domestic project that I started in Hackney has reached so far. I don’t think it’s over.”

Lewis found that all the mothers were calm, composed and happy despite their exhausting birth. Pic: Jenny Lewis

The One Day Young book is available from Hoxton Mini Press.