Story:
"Mama at 8" is a work from my series entitled "Wandaful Beginnings" which explores generational cycles by connecting childhood memories with present day events.

"Wandaful Beginnings" is a deeply personal exploration of memory, identity, and the quiet beauty found in family archives. The project takes its name from my mother, Wanda—our self-proclaimed “Family Historian.” For decades, she documented the everyday: birthdays, hairstyles, sibling squabbles, quiet moments on the couch. Her dedication to saving photographs, scrapbooks, and handwritten captions created an archive that now serves as both a mirror and a map for my own journey as an artist.

This series combines scanned archival photos taken by my mother throughout the 1990s with present-day self-portraits. Through this visual dialogue, I explore recurring themes—beauty, familial dynamics, insecurity, and emotional cycles. The inclusion of my mother’s handwriting and childhood photos not only honors her role in shaping our family’s visual history, but also deepens the emotional texture of the work. I see myself in the images of her as a young girl—quiet, observant, unsure—and recognize how those inherited traits continue to surface in my own life and art.

By weaving the past into the present, Wandaful Beginnings reflects on the connections that form across generations and the subtle ways our stories echo one another. The work is both a tribute to my mother’s gaze and an affirmation of my own.

Submitted by: Melanee Brown

Connect: @melbee.photo