This week we are looking at the work of artists who submitted projects during our last call-for-entries–way back in late-2022 (a new call will be going out sometime in the near future, so stay tuned for details…). Today we are viewing and hearing more about Personal History by Sarah Malakoff. Sarah Malakoff creates large-scale color photographs
I have been photographing interior spaces for a very long time and find that different themes and threads interest me as I work. My first book, Second Nature, looked at the home as both a refuge from and a reinvention of the outside, natural world. While shooting, other objects started catching my attention. I noticed portraits displayed in the home and was fascinated by who they represent, what the connection might be to the occupant, and the relationship to other items and architecture. A good number of the portraits, much more than I would have thought, were of figures from history- Marie Antoinette, Napoleon, Yuri Gagarin. With this in mind, I started looking for other possessions that reference historical events and locations. I found these things and their placement within the home variously humorous, touching, and sometimes disturbing.
