Reading Family Letters
JENNIFER STEWART
March 7 - 9, 2019 | the Ou Gallery
Reading Family Letters is an archival project.
Letters dating back from the 1930s all have a family connection to the artist. In 2018, black and white portraits of the artist’s immediate family were produced in the darkroom. The portraits were each paired with a letter, connecting past to present.
During a residency at the Ou Gallery (March 1-15, 2019), community participants were asked to record themselves reading the letters. This final step connects an audience with the work.
During this experience, it became clear to me that the project had become more about why someone chose a letter to read. They usually had their own story to tell.
