She Sucked Her Thumb 1989

Clarissa Sligh created this cyanotype titled "She Sucked Her Thumb" in 1989. The piece is dominated by a monochrome blue, which imbues the image with a melancholic, dreamlike quality. A central photographic portrait is framed by handwritten text that repeats the phrase "Seeking Comfort She Sucked Her Thumb." The layering of image and text creates a complex structure. The portrait, disrupted by a horizontal band, suggests a fragmented self. This disruption destabilizes the conventional reading of portraiture, challenging the idea of a fixed identity. The repeated phrase, scrawled around the central image, acts as a textual cage. The formal repetition emphasizes the cyclical nature of seeking comfort. Sligh's work uses this combination of image and text to investigate themes of memory, identity, and the search for solace. The visual and textual elements function together to evoke a sense of vulnerability. It transforms personal experience into a broader commentary on the ways we seek comfort in the face of emotional distress.