Nicole Schwartz Investigates Identity by Analyzing the Depiction of Oneself in Family Images
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Published11 Jul 2022
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Author
"Four Eggs and a Hummingbird" challenges the notion of authenticity often attributed to family photography through images that depict truth and artifice. I am interested in how family can be a means of representing oneself in terms of histories, experiences, and memories.
The images blur the line between fact and imagination, similar to how memory bends, molds, and fluctuates, complicating truthfulness. Using the densely forested region of the Pine Barrens as my foundation, I explore the interior and exterior relationships between my family members and myself. Who am I as a person outside of my family unit? What burdens do I carry by keeping certain memories from my family members, and also myself?
Words and Pictures by Nicole Schwartz
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Nicole Schwartz received her MFA in Photography from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2017 where she was awarded the T.C. Colley Award for Photographic Excellence. She is an Assistant Professor of Photography at County College of Morris. In 2021, Nicole received an Individual Artist Fellowship from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Her work circles around themes of identity, memory, and family. Follow her on PhMuseum and Instagram.
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This feature is part of Story of the Week, a selection of relevant projects from our community handpicked by the PhMuseum curators.
