FSU Department of Art BFA Alumni Danielle Delph created a project titled If I Had Known My Mother Back Then, which involved a photo collection that caught the attention of many media outlets. Here are some personal statements from Danielle Delph herself:
Perhaps the best case for a mother-daughter friendship that bends the rules of space and time is the If I Had Known My Mother Back Then photo collection, a project that caught the attention of the Huffington Post, CBS, Meredith Viera, and the Today Show.
“I’ve always wondered if my Mom and I would have been friends had we grown up together. So, I decided the take that thought one step further by actually adding myself into her childhood photos.”
The project took about six months to complete, partly because photos were being mailed one batch at a time from her mother’s home in Florida. Complicating matters was the fact that many of her mom’s photos were ruined when Hurricane Ivan tore through Florida in 2004. But once she paired enough photos, that reflected her and her mother’s mutual sensibility, the rest of the process moved pretty quickly.
My process began by digging through a mountain of old childhood photos of both my mother and myself. I chose images where we were the same age, and appeared like we were interacting with one another when juxtaposed together. After making those selections, I scanned and Photoshopped them together creating the images of what appear like two young friends spending time together.
During the project it was interesting to see our similarities through the ages. In small details like our facial expressions or the activities we were involved in. But more than anything, it’s pretty clear to me that the friend I see in the photos, is the same friend I have in my Mom now.”
For more art by Danielle Delph, visit: danielledelph.com