Archive - Edie Bresler's Portfolio

Anonymous n.d, 2022

Archival pigment print on canvas with embroidery

Anonymous 1911, 2021

Cyanotype with raised embroidery and sequins

Detail

Anonymous 1843, 2017

Sewn pigment print

During a year-long illness, I spent more time looking at photographs in books than making them. A series of anonymous nudes from various sources, all made between 1843-1910 entered my consciousness and kept me restless. It was not just the finality of the title, “anonymous” but wonder about the relationship between photographer and subject. I found myself dreamily inventing backstories and imagining what they might have been like outside the photographers studio.

To satisfy my curiosity, I scanned the original reproduction to digitally remove them from the studio. Then I began creating an alternate place and time. I embroider, and sew clothing as a gesture of renewal and second chances. Each sewn photograph is a unique echo of the original, akin to a distant, imagined descendant.

I gratefully acknowledge the collectors and institutions who collected and preserved the original moments.