"Shiphead," Angola, Louisiana 18 - 1999

Deborah Luster’s "Shiphead," was created in Angola, Louisiana, using the tintype process, resulting in a hauntingly beautiful image. I am immediately drawn to the deep blacks and the muted sepia tones. It’s as if the image is emerging from the shadows. I wonder what it was like for Luster to make this image, to work with the sitter. How the metallic plate transforms a moment into something timeless? There’s a tension here, a vulnerability in the sitter’s expression, and this gloved hand on his shoulder. It reminds me of a Rembrandt portrait – that kind of quiet drama. Luster’s work often explores themes of memory, loss, and resilience, and in a way, she is continuing a long tradition of portraiture, using photography to capture something profound about the human condition. Artists build on each other’s ideas, and across time, in dialogue with one another, they seek to evoke something essential about who we are.