MochiProblems

Hidden Mother presents a survey of the 19th-century child portraits known as “hidden mother” photographs. (…) 19th century portrait photographers turned to a number of different devices—from pedestals to pincer-like braces—to stabilize the body for the long exposures required to make a portrait. But these methods couldn’t be used on the small, unruly body of a child. Instead, the photographer often enlisted the mother, who, hidden by studio props, supported or soothed her offspring. In the final image, the mother appears as an uncanny presence. (…) These photographs range from the comic, almost slapstick, barring of the mother to more macabre examples of her literal erasure. A practical strategy deployed by the photographer unintentionally yielded an evocative representation of the mother in abstentia; never meant to be seen, her presence nonetheless haunts these images. ( x )