Hulleah Tsinhnahjinnie

The subject of this work was borrowed from a found photograph—in this case, a portrait commissioned by the sitter. During the 19th century, Native Americans sometimes hired photographers to produce postcard-sized portraits in which they carefully selected their clothing and pose, comprising a rare opportunity to control the way they were presented and perceived publicly. A member of the Bear and Raccoon Clan of the Seminole and Muskogee Nation, Tsinhnahjinnie felt a deep resonance with their deliberate attempts to commemorate and preserve their native identity. In the series to which this work belongs, she digitally manipulated vintage portraits to add abstract elements and forms that lend a sense of gravity and universality.