danielle nelson mourning

self portrait in silverlake

bog, 2006

mirror, marks, mississippi, 2006

ruins, 2006

rhubarb, cavan country, ireland, 2006

prom dress, marks, mississippi, november, 2006

outside stevies, maghery, ireland, 2006

untitled, self portrait on bed

danny

annabelle's cornbread, marks, mississippi, 2006

inside stevie's, ireland, 2006

bolinas 1, november 2011

circle II, marks, mississippi, 2006

yi's beach, 2011

all photographs by danielle nelson mourning

since 2003 mourning has been taking a series of self portraits that reflect her family history. for authenticity, she journeys to the places where her forebears lived & dons period clothing (some items that actually belonged to her ancestors) before striking poses inspired by old photographs, stories & memories. 

she traces her obsession with the past back to the tales she learned at her grandmother's knee. ruth katherine nelson moved from kansas city to california to be closer to her children. she spent a lot of time with her grandmother & one of her favorite things to do was to sit with her & look at photo albums & listen to her stories about the people in them.