St. Gabriel, Louisiana 9 - 2000

Deborah Luster made this tintype, St. Gabriel, Louisiana, and it just glows like an old memory. Tintypes are unique, direct positives on metal, you know? Imagine Deborah in her darkroom, coaxing this image into being through chemistry and light. There's this woman, holding a child, the kid’s face is blurred like they just can't stay still, or maybe that's just time passing, captured right there. The faces and arms emerge from the dark background, with a bright, golden warmth. It feels like a folk song, or a half-remembered dream. I keep thinking about tenderness, the kind that doesn't need perfection or clarity. Instead of a photograph, this feels like a relic, an artifact of a shared moment. I wonder what they were thinking, or feeling at that instant. The warmth of the gold suggests comfort but there is something a little haunted in the image, too.