About My “Spirit Photographs”

In 2019 I completed my senior thesis at St. Mary’s College of Maryland, resulting in a project ultimately titled “Adapted: Retracing Family History and Outlining Self.”

Artist Statement:

In Adapted, I have manipulated family photographs in order to construct a fictionalized family history. Upon first glance it seems that the pieces in this project are printed photographs in vintage frames. Once looked at closely, however, it is revealed that the photographs have been drawn and painted over with ink and gouache. A supernatural force, loosely acting as a metaphor for mental illness, is evident in many of the photographs’ hand drawn and painted details. Once framed and hung together, these photograph-drawings form a domestic wall display and tell a subtle Gothic narrative that spans the entirety of a woman’s life, the story of which is largely inspired by the lives and stories of my ancestors. In its entirety, the woman’s life suggests the possibility of embracing one’s “otherness” and living a fruitful life because of it. This idea coincides with my own recent experiences and struggles from learning to work through severe shifts in my mental state on a day-to-day basis. Because of this connection to my own life and mental health, my works are sites of personal exploration and healing performed through close looking and loving destruction of family photographs. The looking and destruction that constitute this exploration demonstrate the influences of 19th century spirit photography, Victorian photo albums, and the artist Liz Steketee.