January 16, 1973. From the series Daily Self-Portraits

Melissa Shook was twelve when she lost her mother. As a result, she could scarcely remember anything from her childhood as an adult. She decided to explore themes of identity and oblivion by taking pictures of herself every day for one year. Each month she shifted focus, which explains the constant movement between close-ups and full body format. The photographs are titled after the day when they were shot, emphasizing the passage of time. The earnest, diaristic photographs in this series are situated in Shook’s own home, at times including her own daughter, thus suggesting the domestic space as a realm of artistic production.