Unidentified Women

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Artist: Jodi Colella

Title: Unidentified Women

Attribution: Unidentified Women, 2016, Jodi Colella

Year: 2016

Materials: Found tintypes, assorted threads and fabrics, wool felt, earth magnet

Dimensions: Variable, approximately 2x3

Image Statement: Struck by the poignant anonymity of the Historic Northampton's daguerreotypes I was inspired to scour flea markets for similar images which I then altered with raw and idiosyncratic stitches that call attention to the Unidentified Woman whose name is long forgotten. This Obsolete photographic process aligns with today's social media, both as a means that allow people to alter their public identity through the curation of carefully chosen images. I stitch together past and present identity politics and insert myself to provide an alternative chronology where expression replaces suppression and sewing equals activism.