lonelywomyn: standingatthefence: MISCEGENATED FAMILY...

Young Queens (L: Nefertiti, aged 24, R: Devonia, aged 24


A Mother’s Kiss (T: Candace and Devonia, B: Nefertiti and daughter)


Sisters III (L: Nefertiti’s daughter Maketaten, R: Devonia’s daughter Kimberley)


Sisters II (L: Nefertiti’s daughter Merytaten, R: Devonia’s daughter Candace)


Cross-Generational (L: Nefertiti, R: Devonia’s daughter Kimberley)

lonelywomyn:

standingatthefence:

MISCEGENATED FAMILY ALBUM

photo-installation 1980/94, Lorraine O’Grady , Cibachrome prints

“Attention to framing, both literal and metaphorical, is key to understanding Conceptual artist Lorraine O'Grady’s 1980/1994 photographic installation Miscegenated Family Album. On first glance, the work’s pairing of family photos with ancient statues of Nefertiti seems an elaborate and fantastic way to establish royal lineage, but this family album has little to do with genealogy. Instead it is a subtle recounting of O'Grady’s strained relationship with her older sister, Devonia, a rift that was not resolved before Devonia’s untimely death at 37. O'Grady finds a striking parallel between her sister and Nefertiti, who disappeared in her late thirties, leaving behind six children and her younger sister Mutnedjmet. All the images in the album are scaled identically, eliminating hierarchy and reinforcing a poetic link between the two families.”

 -Alexander Gray Associates (New York) 2008 

this is so beautiful