wallflower
2025 - ongoing
In the 19th century, women were cast in roles defined by moral virtue, obedience, and devotion to home—positions that confined their public presence and shaped how they were seen within society. Writing from a modern perspective in the 1960s, historian Barbara Welter examined these constraints critically, defining them as the “Cult of True Womanhood,”centered on four virtues: piety, purity, submissiveness, and domesticity. Her analysis revealed how deeply this ideology influenced the way women’s lives were framed and judged.
Wallflower reflects on these dynamics through 19th-century photographic forms—daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, and tintypes—examining how women were seen within and by the world that defined them. Each piece is scanned and collaged with fragments of period textiles and wallpaper, patterns that may have once filled the interiors of their homes. Some images preserve the grace and dignity these women projected; others are purposefully disrupted, revealing the unease and isolation beneath that quiet restraint.
“Wallflower” reconsiders a word once used to describe women left unseen, reframing it through visibility, endurance, and presence. Together, these portraits invite reflection on the silence women once endured and the ongoing evolution of women’s voices today.
