The Brown Sisters, Brookline, Massachusetts 2018

Nicholas Nixon took this black-and-white photograph of the Brown sisters in Brookline, Massachusetts, on a day we can only imagine. Looking at their faces, lined with stories, I wonder what Nixon was thinking as he framed them, four individuals bound by blood and time. There's a tactile quality to the image, a gray scale that feels both soft and sharp, like memory itself. Each sister has a distinct presence. The faces are so similar, yet so different. What does it mean to witness such an intimate portrayal year after year? This reminds me of work by other artists like Moyra Davey who work serially, exploring similar themes of memory, loss, and familial connection through the photographic image. Each photograph is a gesture, a form of looking, a meditation on existence, and, more importantly, on sisterhood. The Brown sisters' story becomes our own, echoing through our shared human experience.