Week Three: The Untold Story at the Kitchen Table

My photo series is called The Untold Story at the Kitchen Table. The artist I choose to inspire my photo series is Carrie Mae Weems of her Kitchen Table Series. Although they were other artists who inspired the thought behind it like Danielle Scott.


The series itself shows different scenes from a perspective where I will want you to think, what is going on and related. When you look at my photo series I want people to relate what is going on, especially at the kitchen table, this was inspired by another artist Danielle Scott. "Scott uses research to tell the unheard stories, transforming her into the storyteller, the mother, the daughter and the history of her subjects." I kept this phrase in mind about Danielle Scott's work and decided to name my photo series "The Untold Story at the Kitchen Table" because everything happens at the kitchen table, but never captures or unfolds. I took the inspiration of Carrie Mae Weems style and aspect of the picture of her own series, while Danielle Scott gave me the inspiration of the stories that happen at the Kitchen Table.


For my own photo series, it shows how cleaning, taking care of your flower, then an unexpected disaster happens. A challenge that disassembled when I noticed how much the bills came up to. Then, the devil, the anxiety, the fire started to appear. The stress I have to deal with on how to figure on paying these bills. That last picture shows my world crumbling. But, this photo series has an untold story behind it. "And from that table, a fictional life unfolds, with Weems playing the lead role." Where Carrie Mae Weems inspired me to unfold a single woman, trying to live and survive by herself as an independent woman without needing the help of a man. As my old ancestors said, "Marry a man, they will help you." “His presence may be fabricated, in the sense that he pretends to be capable of what he is not. But the pretense is always towards a power which he exercises on others”, by John Berger. With my art you can see the man figure holding the fire over my head to show how "controlled" these perspectives our ancestors have for me, when my world can crumble down as an independent woman.


"This body of work comes from the journey that I’ve taken over the last year, visiting places that reflect pieces of these current times, our history, and my ever-evolving understanding of my own self." -Danielle Scott

I would like you to look at my photo series and unfold your own perspective or story at your kitchen table. I would like you to think of my photo series as a concept sequence of someone else's untold story.

The Untold Story at the Kitchen Table by Dattnan Martinez