“Families cohere by keeping histories and telling stories — and conveying what the English have called heirlooms. The “loom” in heirloom is not coincidental. This root word retains the old expectation that a familial inheritance will include practical tools, such as looms.
For many Black families, kinship bonds have endured through an enlarged definition of the term heirloom that includes everyday items that have come to serve as carriers of tradition and vessels of inheritance.
Here, 10 photographers take up the camera as a loom, weaving stories of kinship and care across generations.”
Words by Tiya Miles and Michelle May-Curry.
See the full project here.
Sunday Dress (1973), 2022
Encaustic wax on archival pigment print on canvas.
Commissioned by The New York Times.
Sisters (1959), 2022
Encaustic wax on archival pigment print on canvas.
Commissioned by The New York Times.
Wedding Day (1969), 2022
Encaustic wax on archival pigment print on canvas.
Commissioned by The New York Times.
Wedding Cake (1964), 2022
Encaustic wax on archival pigment print on canvas.
Commissioned by The New York Times.
Cutting the Cake (1964), 2022
Encaustic wax on archival pigment print on canvas.
Commissioned by The New York Times.
Newlyweds (1964), 2022
Encaustic wax on archival pigment print on canvas.
Commissioned by The New York Times.
Family Affair (1975), 2022
Encaustic wax on archival pigment print on canvas.
Commissioned by The New York Times.