Allison Minto
Photographer
The ideas in my images illuminate a historical consciousness that transcends between personal, past, present and future narratives. My work uses field research and photography to take on themes around African American archives, family, history, memory, preservation and maintenance.
My method begins with a journey of speculation about my family history. I'm paying attention to what's left and how I respond to what's in front of me. I delve into the details of the objects, domestic interior spaces and images, extracting elements that serve as sources of inspiration for the work.
My decision to use archival elements come out of a personal experience. Not just by digging through my family archives, but by also recognizing the traditional position many Black women in America have played as carriers of generational narratives.
The archive is a cultural testimony to how we exist. I ask myself; What happens to a community when traditional historical records render them invisible? How does violence operate inside the matrix of care? What does it mean to be resurrected in an image and the whitewashing of it?
The archive is complicated. History is complicated. Truth and fact are not one of the same. And therefore, my work reflects this, my interests in filling in these gaps and how I fit within these spaces.
