"My Mother's Clothes"

"My Mother’s Clothes", an exhibition at Jackson Fine Art, a photography gallery in Atlanta, features photography by Jeanette Montgomery Barron of the wardrobe of her mother, Atlanta socialite Eleanor Morgan Montgomery Atuk.

Barron began the project when Atuk was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Barron realized that when Atuk viewed photographs of her wardrobe, it jogged her memory and briefly brought her back from the degenerative disease. The combination of photographs and emotional value creates a “collection with a compelling narrative that explores the complex interstices between memory and the tactile, evoking a complete life through the objects that surrounded it.”

Barron began experimenting and selected specific backgrounds to make “a multi-layered snapshot of the past.” After Atuk passed away, Barron’s project became an even more moving collection. A publication of the pictures combines them with Barron’s written recollections of her mother.

Barron comments on her work: “I suppose this project started as my way of coping with the loss of one part of my mother, her memory, then, with the loss of my mother. It has helped me understand and appreciate her more, thankfully. Ultimately, this project is a love letter to my mother.”

"My Mother’s Clothes" is on view at Jackson Fine Art through next Wednesday, August 27. Click here to read an article on ArtsCriticATL.