Daisy Patton: With Hands Clasped Tightly

Foto Relevance is pleased to present With Hands Clasped Tightly, the gallery’s first solo show from multidisciplinary artist Daisy Patton. The works presented in the exhibition are an extension of Forgetting is so long, an ongoing series regarding memory, identity, and loss which explores the family portrait to reveal generational time. Throughout Patton’s work, the use of abandoned photographs serves to dislocate the linear timeframe so commonly associated with the familial realm — the photo’s age is in constant conversation with its current presence, transforming the viewer into a time traveler. Patton explains, “I am descended from my mother, who was descended from her mother, and onwards. We calculate backwards generationally, placing the formerly beloved into temporal boxes, separate from us. Count backwards far enough, past living memory, and we have forgotten who they are, who they were.” These re-enlivened photographs are invitations to listen and share in ancestral stories despite histories of grief and shared losses. Patton’s work encourages us to rewrite the stories of our past and create a future full of joy and care. With Hands Clasped Tightly will be on view at Foto Relevance from September 8 – November 10, 2023.