I would never know, unless you told me.
Print negatives and positives created in the darkroom using images documented originally from 1850-1930.
These Died With You
Black and White Print Negative and Positive Transfers from original images taken from 1850-1960, transferred in the darkroom onto Ilford Black and White Glossy RC Paper, 16×20
January 2025 – April 2025
Humans hold onto photographs, items, and objects that hold memories or stories of the loved ones who have passed away. We may have no actual connection to the physical person who once held these narratives, yet because the stories were explained to us, or because we have been told they are connected to our family, we keep them. Without these explanations or experiences, items that we find in attics, homes, or spaces that need to be cleaned out would be considered junk and often would be tossed away.
Before my grandfather passed in 2024, I acquired many of our family photo albums. Some images were of my family from 1850 through 1900. These people are strangers to me, yet I have heard stories of their existence. While my grandmother was still alive, I decided to take these photographs and ask the story behind them, and she shared with me my grandfather’s lineage and family history. These photographs are more impactful to me now because I am aware of these stories, however, the people still are unknown to me personally.
The more distant these narratives are, the more unclear the stories resonate with me. We assume or hope that our family history includes ‘good’ and ‘decent’ people, but the truth is we will never know. The closer the timeline gets to our time of living, the more we are familiar with the setting, characters in our story, and the situations that came about. I take found images and create photographic negative and positive prints before placing them onto a larger sheet in the darkroom. Each sheet is set within a specific decade of time from what was labeled when I found them. The more unfamiliar I am with the images, the more blurry or unfamiliar they are presented to the viewer. Leaving some images that are unknown in negative form, mixed with some images in a positive print give the viewer an insight of how familiar I am with some of these people and stories about them.
Without these handed-down tales or questions I asked, these stories would die with those who were told them last. Without my questions, these stories would die. Without my investigation and telling people about these stories, they would end with me.
