Alexa Mazzarello | Failure to Progress

Failure to Progress is Alexa Mazzarello’s intimate exploration of birth and matrescence — the profound physical, emotional, and psychological transformation of becoming a mother. Through photography, collage, video, and textiles, Mazzarello draws on her own birth experiences to illuminate and demystify the often invisible realities of this life-altering transition.

The exhibition title references a clinical term used to describe labour that is not advancing “quickly enough”—a phrase that appeared on the birth report for Mazzarello’s first child. That birth, an emergency C-section during the COVID-19 pandemic, was defined by medical intervention and external control. Two years later, her second birth by VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Caesarean), marked a reclamation of agency and embodied strength.

Through these works, Mazzarello offers a deeply personal reflection that challenges the cultural silence surrounding birth. As she explains, the project underscores “the urgent need to reclaim and represent these narratives on our own terms,” situating them within a broader feminist discourse that foregrounds agency and affirms birth as a site of resilience and collective empowerment.

Recipient of the 2025 Project XO Award, Alexa Mazzarello is a lens-based artist in Ottawa. She holds a BA in Sociology from McGill University and a Master’s in Public Health from Queen’s University. Since becoming a mother in 2021, her fine art practice has focused on matrescence. She is an active member of Women Photograph and the 44.4 Mother/Artist Collective. Her work has been exhibited in Canada and the UK.

Curator: Meghan Ho
Translation and editing: Louise Saint-André, Rebecca Basciano, Véronique Couillard
Design: Sophie Nakashima
Installation: Dan Austin, Rob Keefe, Stephanie Germano

The Project XO Award recognizes the merits of a publicly presented photographic project by an artist who demonstrates an ongoing connection to the Ottawa region. The award recipient is selected by a jury of arts, photography, and media experts and is presented by SPAO and the Ottawa Art Gallery, with supporting sponsors Centre de production DAÏMÔN and Wall Space Gallery + Framing.