04| precious memories
archive log #1: restored images from my family & community
a song to set the tone:
Precious Memories by Sister Rosetta Tharpe
Hello, hello!
Welcome to The Artist’s Fortune, a space dedicated to reflection, connection, and inspiration for myself & my network. I am KVOZIA and I’m an artist. Thank you for taking the time to read this!
Fortune cookie of the day: “Memories are the key not to the past, but to the future…” - Corrie Ten Boom
As you all may know, I’m passionate about creating images exploring themes of identity, community, fashion, and culture.
However, beyond making in the present, I like to reflect on and dive into images of the past. I was called to start doing this a couple of years ago after realizing I do not much about my family history & origins. So, I began to use my neighborhood library and started the path of tracing my genealogy with my maternal grandmother. I was advised to continue research through records online and any photos I could find. Suddenly, it hit me that there was an abundance of family photo albums around me. The images in this blog and on the archive tab on my site are restored, curated, and digitized archival photos from my family and community.
This is a fairly new part of my studio practice. As a deliberate effort to intentionally collect and preserve BIPOC history with care, I’m grateful for the support on this journey & open to any submissions at kreate@kvozia.com. One aspect of my inspiration is informed by this practice and these photos by those who ironically were never even considered photographers or archivists.
Some of my favorites I’ve had the pleasure to scan and restore so far are the next three photos from the late 50s and early 60s. My maternal grandmother I spoke about earlier, Deborah, and two of her elder sisters can be seen in three different settings here. Growing up I had obviously only seen them as grown women and the past middle age of their lives. However, unveiling these pics of them as little girls stuck a chord in me. That chord is one connected to feelings of grief, homage, and empathy. This series of photos, and others, helped me to realize the strong emotions that are wrapped into archival work and why so often some photos are left untouched, unseen for decades…
Thanks for reading and viewing these archival photos. Stay tuned for more! Subscribe here to get 2–3 emails every month, bringing you along on my journey. You can support me by buying me a roll of film or cup of tea, subscribing and sharing this with someone you think would enjoy it, or checking out my links! Until next time…
Much love,
KVOZIA