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Documentary

Nancy Newberry

Photographer

Nancy Newberry

MUM

Customs are vital in defining all cultures. “Mum” is survey of my own back yard exploring themes of memory, relationships, self-representation and strange rituals of the everyday. Artificial, shiny and virtually unknown outside of Texas, the Homecoming Mum is an elaborate corsage, exchanged between friends and lovers. The Mum consists of a large silk flower decorated with long glittery ribbons and other trinkets, which indicate the wearer’s interests, social standing, and allegiances to friends. They are ritually worn, collected and subsequently immortalized, tacked to bedroom walls as trophies. Each year the collection grows with a more elaborate Mum, marking progress and personal history. At a time when many American high schoolers seem purposefully disengaged from the world around them, the Mum constitutes both a unique act of cultural immersion and a specific brand of folk art. Shot slowly and inspired by an interpretation of my memories, I have limited the settings of the photographs to in and around the subject’s homes. In this very personal space, I pair spontaneous and carefully arranged moments; my interest is in the relationship between self and culture, the real and the perceived. With the extravagance of adornment and insignia the work continues to explore ceremony and commonplace. Human existence is a creative act; the mystery is in how we are driven to innovate and engage the unspoken narrative of ourselves.

Nancy Newberry

Fine Art and Editorial photographer Nancy Newberry is interested in the strange rituals of everyday life. Known for her photographs of people, her work investigates the interplay between individuality, social affiliation. 

She has received many honors and awards for her work from both publications and institutions. Most recently, she received The British Journal of Photography Female in Focus Award (2019); The Griffin Museum of Photography, Richards’ Family Trust Award (2018); was a Grand Prix Finalist at the 32nd International Festival of Fashion and Photography in Hyeres, France; received the Descubrimientos (Top Discovery) PhotoEspaña Prize in Madrid; Kolga Photo Award in Tbilisi, Georgia; PhotoVisa Award in Krasnodar, Russia; FotoFest Discoveries of the Meeting Place in Houston; and The Taylor Wessing Portrait Exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery in London (2012, 2017). 

Ms. Newberry's photographs can regularly be seen in the pages of magazines and are in the permanent collections of The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Centro de Arte Alcobendas, Spain; and Villa Noailles, Hyères, France. Her work has been exhibited throughout the US, Europe and China. She can often be found chasing tumbleweeds between her home in Dallas and Marfa, Texas.