By Julie Anderson
Nearly three decades after the premature birth of her daughter, local artist Jo Lauritz explores themes of grief, hope and gratitude through her latest exhibition 110 Days.
The four-part installation acts as a metaphorical timestamp of one of the most transformative – and cherished – periods of her life.
In 1998, Jo’s middle child Isadora (Issy) was born 16 weeks early, weighing just 500 grams and unable to breathe by herself. With an approximately 50% chance of survival, she was immediately intubated and isolated in Melbourne’s Royal Women’s Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).
“She was too fragile for me to hold for the first three weeks with her skin still transparent, which we were told was just a single cell thick,” Jo recalls.
With a dedicated nurse assigned 24 hours a day, at the start Jo could only connect with Issy through daily visits to the hospital, occasionally touching her and supplying breast milk pumped at home to feed her once she was able to accept it. Issy was in the NICU for 110 days and when the time came to be held, kangaroo cuddles became a treasured gift.
“It was a very lonely, fragile period. There was extreme daily rigour in keeping her alive. I marked the time through milestones, like when she first reached a kilo, at six weeks old. Every moment was wrapped in extreme devotion to keeping her alive.”
The sights, sounds and smells from the time are still visceral for her. At a time where she instinctively yearned to envelope her baby in the warmth and safety of home, Jo watched from a distance as Issy lay isolated in the sterile hospital unit smelling of disinfectant, surrounded by screens and equipment that pinged and beeped.
Now that all three of her children are healthy, thriving adults, Jo is deeply reflecting on her experience. She has spent the last year conceptualising and creating 110 Days not only as a tribute to her daughter’s survival, but to the powerful lineal bond of motherhood.
“My own mother flew in from Sydney immediately to be with me and help care for my then-toddler at home, without question. She stayed with us for four months. As a mother, I couldn’t connect with my baby in the traditional way. Every minute of her life at that point was touch and go, and my own mother was with me through it all.”
What started as a personal exploration into motherhood turned into a moving journey which allowed Jo to reconnect with the enormity of the challenges and emotions she experienced 27 years ago. The project involved creating a porcelain vessel every day for 110 days to mark the time Isadora was in hospital. The vessels now are like metaphorical seedpods, holding hope for the future, and visually create a pregnant form in their reflection on the shelves. The process involved sanding the delicate porcelain by hand, often breaking or fracturing the fragile vessels, further reminding her of the delicacy in which all premature babies are handled.
Jo also journaled each day of the project, and these recollections are displayed in spiral writing on 4m x 1m 9gsm paper, which is the same thinness as skin.
Despite her own challenging journey, Jo remains grateful and finds gifts in the experience.
“I’ve been able to reconnect with the doctor who delivered Issy and invite her to the exhibition, and one of the neonatal nurses who cared for her. The hospital has been so, so supportive and I am in awe of the people who work there.”
Jo is also grateful for Australia’s outstanding free healthcare. “In other countries the struggle to pay can impact the health and survival of a baby. I’m beyond thankful we have such dedicated people and healthcare.”
And of course Jo is equally grateful to everyone at The Art Room and Parallel Projects. “It is with immense gratitude to those at the Art Room and Parallel Projects who have supported not only my artistic practise but the deeply moving rebirth of the artwork during the installation.”
Jo would like to further develop this project with the knowledge that she is not alone in this story, as the birth of an extremely premature baby affects parents worldwide and in all cultures.
110 Days showing at
The Art Room, Parallel Projects.
27 April – 29 May 2026
Opening: Saturday 2 May 1–3pm
Artist Talk: 30 May 12pm
138 Cowper Street Footscray
