"Portraits of Women With Their Weight In Dough" is an ongoing photographic and video series by Santina Amato that invites women from diverse backgrounds to labor in the creation of, and pose with, their body weight in dough over a two-hour session. The participants, selected through an open call process, share their personal reasons for wanting their portrait taken with this symbolic material.

The series explores the intimate relationship between women and their bodies through the symbolic use of bread dough. In this project, Amato captures women posed with an amount of dough that matches their body weight, using the dough as a metaphor for the emotional and physical burdens women carry. The dough, a domestic material tied to sustenance and care, becomes a powerful visual statement about the weight of societal expectations and the resilience of the female body. Through these portraits, Amato delves into themes of identity, labor, and the female experience, reimagining the body’s interaction with its surrounding environment.

In 2019, the project was awarded a City of Chicago, Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, Individual Artist Program Grant.

In 2023, the project was awarded a New York State Council on the Arts, Individual Artist Grant and a Foundation for Contemporary Art Emergency Grant and exhibited at the Sixth AIM Biennale at the Bronx Museum, NY