Corinne
Diop

Unidentified Woman

In this series, each photomontage includes a found portrait that was labeled a "Unidentified Woman" as a starting point. All documentary images of daguerreotype by Mathew Brady, they include the scratches and irregularities that developed on these fragile metal surfaces over the ages as well as the black edges of the large format film from when they were rephotographed, sometime pre-1992. With the originals taken between 1840 and 1861, the women ranged in age from 20 to 65 and sat alone in front of the camera. Some wore a dressy bonnet or lace gloves that were noted in the archive, as were the tables with tablecloths and other props.

Into each portrait I merge my own digital photographs of aging objects and surfaces that are derived from an outdoor installation I have been rearranging and rephotographing for over five years, often with photographs of the installation added back into the scene. I found similarities between the found photos and mine in the layering and image deterioration that occurs over time, the use of objects as props, and the photographs of photographs.

For the main series, the final images are printed on letter-sized sheets of fine art paper with the date the portrait was taken, a description of the pose and props, and any numbers that were scratched on the fronts and backs of the original plates added in my handwriting on the edges, making them each one-of-a kind. Along with these formally framed prints, larger versions of the photomontages are placed back in the installation space. These will be exhibited in their deteriorated state or will become another iteration of an archival photographs.

Having the portraits of these unidentified women emerge in various iterations from daguerreotypes to black and white film and then to digital files, in three different centuries, shows the power of photography and of remembrance. We don't know their names or details of their lives, but they aren't forgotten.