Like many people, photographer Karni Arieli was stuck at home for most of 2020, living within the narrow confines imposed by the pandemic. To ease the tedium, Arieli—born in Israel and living in England—began taking pictures of her sons. When she realized that many other photographers were also turning their lenses on their families, “I thought, I should collect the stories of motherhood in lockdown.”

In April 2021 she launched the Eye Mama Project, an Instagram platform where she posts images of motherhood made by photographers from all over the world who identify as mothers. Arieli used the word “mama” because she considers it a term of endearment and connection.

“I wanted to come across all different cultures, ethnicities, sexualities—it