Weems is a contemporary American artist who investigated family relationships in her series the kitchen table. She liked the idea that photography could change people’s perceptions of other people or objects, this comes across in these photographs where the viewer is able to have an insight into another family’s life knowing we all go through similar experiences (As this was a time where racism was sill very much present). What is interesting about kitchen tables is that they are a place of habit which don’t allow for much emotional distance that you may instead find in street photography, which allows for true emotions and intimacy to be created. Weems work shows the viewer how in one place so many different emotions can be experienced with various relationships and times throughout the day.
I am interested in projecting this idea into my own work but incorporating outside landscapes to convey the idea that one e.g. bench can be someone’s happy place but someone else’s sad even within the same day.
This image shows the mother and daughter relationship and the idea that the little girls wanted to be just like her mum, this is a critical stage in human development where the child sees themselves as distinct from her mother. Although, in this image she still seems to be copying her mother’s actions. As the images have been shot in black and white it allows the viewer to focus more on the relationship and emotions within the image rather than being distracted by the lighting and other colours, this also allows for all of the photos in the series to become one unified document.
AmyWhiteUCA 