Label TextIn 2011, Laurel Nakadate began to photograph strangers, inviting friends of friends, Facebook “friends,” and curious members of the online community to meet her at night under dark skies. She uses techniques including long exposure, available natural light, and a single flashlight to build a distinct visual style that captures the strangeness of a first encounter between an artist and her model As the project evolved, Nakadate began finding subjects through research into her own genetics via internet DNA testing, which uncovered distant living relatives. Further digging into online groups dedicated to descendants of noted historical figures grew her pool of relatives, allowing her to contact and photograph hundreds of people who shared DNA with her. They were invited to meet in a rural location, wearing whatever they wished. The photographs were taken as soon after the initial introduction as possible, with only necessary conversation. The results are haunting portraits, spotlit against a dreamlike landscape. The full series, titled “Relations,” expands notions of social networking by exploring patterns of connection. Does this seemingly random group of people, of disparate age, race, and social background, constitute a family? Do they represent a self-portrait of the artist herself?
DimensionsFrame: 31 × 46 × 1 1/2 in. (78.7 × 116.8 × 3.8 cm)
Sheet: 30 × 45 in. (76.2 × 114.3 cm)
Sheet: 30 × 45 in. (76.2 × 114.3 cm)
Accession Number 2016.2
Classificationsphotograph
Edition1/3
Portfolio/Seriesfrom the "Relations" series
ProvenanceLeslie Tonkonow Artworks + Projects, New York; Des Moines Art Center [purchased from the previous, 2016]
Collections
