History of objects

Objects bear witness to events that shape families for generations. When the people are gone, only their objects remain, holding hidden stories about the messiness of their lives. 

In History of Objects, Amber Shields re-examines her family history through photographing her family’s heirlooms. While digitizing her family’s archive during the pandemic, Shields noticed in old family photos fragments of heirlooms that now reside in her home. These objects became a connection between the past and present and a conduit to understanding her ancestors’ actions and decisions in a new light. This curated collection of vernacular photographs examine the mother/daughter relationship: the choices women face as they transition from adolescence to adulthood, the expectations and desires mothers put on their daughters, and the decisions they have make to ensure their own and their children’s preservation.

As she photographed the heirlooms, Shields contemplated what these objects witnessed, how the events surrounding them shaped her own life, and how her own decisions will affect her children’s lives. If only these objects could talk, what lessons could they teach?