Anonymous Women: Demise

Patty Carroll (1946)

Exploration of identity loss, anonymity, and domestic confinement conveyed through vibrant, meticulously staged installations and concealed female figures.

Description

Patty Carroll's photography project, Anonymous Women: Demise, explores the intricate and often ambivalent relationships women have with domestic life, focusing particularly on the point at which domestic ideals become overwhelming. Initiated in the mid-1990s during Carroll's residence in London, the broader Anonymous Women series reflects her personal experiences of identity erosion, first symbolized by her reduced status to "Mrs. Jones", and later influenced by American post-war suburban ideals she experienced upon returning to the United States.

Set against a historical and cultural backdrop characterized by shifting gender roles and increased awareness of domestic pressures, Demise specifically critiques the persistent myths surrounding domestic perfection. By intentionally obscuring or camouflaging female figures behind meticulously staged and highly detailed household settings, Carroll represents the anonymous woman overwhelmed and subsumed by her surroundings. This approach critiques societal expectations and satirizes the obsessive pursuit of an unattainable domestic ideal.

Visually, the photographs in Demise are characterized by vibrant, saturated colors and elaborate, staged compositions created as life-sized studio installations. Carroll meticulously arranges sets where domestic objects, fabrics, and furnishings consume the faceless mannequin figures. The images, shot in square format, produce a tone of absurdity and surreal humor that underscores the underlying themes of isolation and domestic entrapment.

Embracing digital medium format photography, Carroll abandoned her longtime use of analog film in favor of a camera setup involving a static tripod and directional studio lighting, allowing for the deliberate construction of her meticulously choreographed domestic scenes. Post-production interventions are minimal, emphasizing her preference for meticulously planned physical setups.

Exhibited internationally—including the Chicago Cultural Center, Galerie XII (Los Angeles), PDNB Gallery (Dallas), BBA Gallery (Berlin), and the White Box Museum (Beijing)—Anonymous Women: Demise has been consolidated in two monographs (Anonymous Women, Daylight, 2017; Anonymous Women: Domestic Demise, Aint-Bad, 2020). Recognition such as the BBA Photography Prize (Winner, 2023) and Photolucida’s Top 50 (2014, 2017) has helped cement the series’ standing in contemporary photographic practice.

Behind the work

A pivotal political context shaping the later phase of the project, especially Demise, was the Iraq War. In 2003, Carroll's niece was deployed, prompting a reflection on the irony of her meticulous creation of a secure, idealized 1950s domestic space in contrast to the destruction of homes experienced by women in conflict zones.

While Carroll prefers to achieve her visuals physically during the shoot, minimising digital editing, she does use post-production for tasks like removing fishing line used to suspend objects in scenes featuring elements like "flying food". She also meticulously covers details like book titles with wallpaper samples to prevent distractions and maintain the intended narrative and anonymity.

Quotes by the photographer

"It made me acutely aware that in more traditional societies, most women are still seen through the lens of their domestic status. It was a situation that led to a small identity crisis. My response was to begin a series of photographs depicting a female model whose identity was hidden behind various domestic objects. These were ‘unportraits’ – about being unseen."

"The figure stands in for so many women, who silently make the home a place of comfort, safety, and warmth, yet are unseen heroines of their own lives."

"As a woman artist, I am confronting emotional issues of hiding, comfort, and safety; how the home environment is a place of perfection, yet decoration can camouflage one’s individuality to the point of claustrophobia."

"Here the woman has become the victim of a domestic disaster. Her obsessions and possessions have finally overwhelmed her. Her perfect home has become a tragic stage."

"If a picture is not exciting or interesting to look at, it doesn’t matter to me what it is about. I think form, color and all aesthetic decisions will enhance our reading of an image. I do not subscribe to the philosophy of having meaning so well hidden in dull imagery that one needs an essay to explain it. On the other hand, it is really important to make sure that there is a message in each image, whether political, personal, or emotional."

"My photographs are metaphors for the interior lives of women; how we substitute everyday objects and artifice and turn them into obsessions."

"I am trying to both critique and celebrate situations in the imagery. It is a hard line to hold, but I think that is where humour and beauty can help. If an image is visually rich, it is easier to look a bit further into it and digest other meanings."

Tags and context

Credits: Alasdair Foster, Talking Pictures (project nomination). Suggest an Edit