Introduction
Many years ago, I began collecting vintage photo albums. The archive was created from purchases via online auctions and antique stores. When I first began watching the online auctions, I realized that some participants would buy an album and then split apart the images in the album and re-sell them individually to make a larger profit. The women, men, and children are for the most part nameless and only now known by their auction id number and their seller’s quirky sign-on. The thought of families torn apart, albeit figuratively, and then sold to the highest bidder is very disturbing and repeats a very troubling part of history. Although I recognize my own complicity by participating in the auctions of my “ancestors,” I feel that I am rescuing the albums (people) I can, from further disturbance.
“A Peace (of the Dream)” is primarily dedicated to singular images of women. As I combed through the albums and studied the images, I started to ask questions as I looked at these long-forgotten and abandoned people. What were their names? How long did they live? Where did they work? Who were their friends and lovers? Who were their enemies? Who disappointed them and discarded them like trash? I have merged some family photos with the anonymous ones, so I know some of the answers to my questions.
The merging of the anonymous images with the known memories, the universal with the very personal, is what creates the beauty of the work and confers significance.
-Sonya A. Lawyer, 2007