WITH MY MOTHER | Eva Stenram

MY MOTHER'S EYES, MY FATHER'S HANDS AND HAIR

My Mather's Hands, My Father's Hands and Hair / 1999 / 53.5 cm x 41cm each / edition of 5

On the left side is a portrait of the artist, but with her mother's eyes. On the right, the artist's hands and hair have been replaced with her father's hands and hair. These were the physical characteristics often noted by others as having been passed down to the artist from her parents.

On the left side, the work presents a portrait of the artist, though her features have been subtly altered: she appears with her mother’s eyes. On the right side, the artist’s own hands and hair have been replaced with those of her father, emphasising another set of physical characteristics frequently noted by others as having been passed down to the artist from her parents. Together, these mirrored portraits create a visual dialogue about identity, inheritance, and the ways we see ourselves through the features of those who came before us.

RETOUCHING HISTORY

with my mother

with my grandparents

with my grandparents, uncle and mother

with my mother and ?

with my mother

with my mother

with my mother and ?

with my parents

with my father

with my father and big brother

with my big brother

with mysister

with my mother

with my big brother and big sister

with myself

In Retouching History, Stenram turns to her family photo album as both subject and source. After selecting specific images to rework, she staged new photographs designed to merge seamlessly with the older ones.

In some cases, Stenram digitally inserted herself into the older image; in others, figures and details from the original album were transplanted into the newly created shots. Stenram’s family history is in this way constructed, condensed and rearranged. ‘Retouching History’ is an exploration of a basic fantasy: what would it be like to be the same age as our parents? Would we like each other or fall out?

Retouching History exists in two formats: as a limited edition hand made album containing a total of 17 photographs, and as a slide/audio installation showing 16 of the images.