Originally from southwest Wales, Bristol-based photographer Katie Waite’s recent work Muscle Memory explores a maternal relationship, combining constructed documentary practice and archive imagery to examine ideas of maternal strength, transformation, and femininity. Muscle Memory explores Katie’s interest in her mum’s past as a bodybuilder, an interest which has been there since a young age. One specific image of her mother bodybuilding in the late 80’s, which she would stare at as a child, captured Katies’ imagination and as she got older, she would ask her mother questions and learn stories of her mothers’ past. When Katie and her mother, Julie, moved house in 2017 Katie saw all the bodybuilding memorabilia, the trophies her mother won, books she used for training, archive imagery and even the posing costumes and workout clothes she wore. Katies relationship with Julie is very close and important to her so she wanted the work to be a shrine to her mothers past and for people to learn of how special her mother is to her. The images in Muscle Memory include photographs from her mothers personal archive, Katie modelling as a bodybuilder recreating her mum's favourite poses, photographs of recreations of the diet Julie was on when training and heartfelt images of them in Julie's garden in Wales with them both posing together. The work explores their mother daughter bond through Julie’s fascinating bodybuilding past. The images are playful, kitsch and colourful which mirrors their relationship. When displaying Muscle Memory Katie created three plinths to mimic a trophy podium, third and second place having her mums’ trophies on and first place having the Muscle Memory Photobook. On the wall were 2 A2 framed images selected from the studio work Katie did for the project and in between these studio images were three autographed photos from famous female bodybuilders who Julie had met. The fourth image was the photograph Katie used to stare at as a child, all four archive images were in their original frames.